SGM Plumley passes away

I’ve been researching France in World War 2 recently, and I stumbled upon this article on JSTOR:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/286380?casa_token=HrDISj647xoAAAAA%3A4r0lrbG6dLMbOFV1mHpvWIxLmi5kgJmFmZ_TYY5Ct12HpfBVa87FyqGvcP00vs2G1JuM3ol2qcQ

Unfortunately, my regular free JSTOR account cannot access this.

Please let me know if you have access to this article in any way. Thank you!

@SuperbattleshipYamato

Wow, what a fantastic article, thanks for sharing.

@Lancasterlaw1175

I think your hypothesis is broadly correct.

But I think on a technical and logistical level (not sure about political), it seems to me that it was perfectly possible for the French to mobilize and brings the guns to the front much earlier, before September. This would’ve allowed them to begin attacking almost immediately and shatter the German lines. In retrospect, the French should be at fault for not mobilizing (and preventing the Poles from doing so).

The vast majority of Army Group C divisions were undersized (or even just command headquarters), while only about half of the French ones were deficient in some way (Nafziger’s book also lists the condition of French divisions in September-October 193o).

I got the book online here:

https://www.amazon.com/French-Order-Battle-World-1939-1945/dp/1585450189

I still can’t believe it. She always seemed so resilient, the trademark of longevity. She led through so much, so many presidents, popes, and prime ministers, through years of greatness and pain. She was an auxiliary in World War 2.

But yet she passes to join her 500 year old name predecessor.

She leaves the first King Charles in 300 years.

As a footnote: I once read a book on the Doolittle Raid in which the author commented that James Doolittle’s family name was somewhat ironic because, on the contrary to “doing little,” the man was actually a powerhouse with a long list of accomplishments in various aviation-related fields, both theoretical and applied. He was, among other things, a test pilot and an aeronautical engineer, a record-setter and a prize winner, with many of these accomplishments pre-dating the outbreak of WWII in 1939 (at which time he was a reserve officer in the Air Corps, having resigned his regular commission in 1930; he returned to active duty in the Air Corps in 1940). WWII added more items to his C.V., the Doolittle Raid being the most famous example but by no means the only one.

The UK lost its last WW1 veteran this year and I think France has too.
My wife and I were  saddened at the loss of Dick Winters when we heard that. I do try to pick up a paper and read the obituaries, always looking for WW2 stories.
I hope I do not forget what my grandparents have passed on to me, as I am going to do the same with mine. My mum has written down all she can remember from her grandparents and even further back. I have told her I want it all.

Remembered for what they did….and never forgotten!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4QJyg3MyWE