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Ancient Eagle tries Army's light machine gun
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Ancient Eagle tries Army's light machine gun
Bob Granche was once a member of the 101st Airborne
It was old home week for Bob Granche of Port Charlotte at Fort Campbell, Ky., recently. This is headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division, "The Screaming Eagles,"
He was invited to come up to "The Week of the Eagles," when the fabled airborne unit struts its stuff. Granche and his wife, Fran, were among a number of guests who attended the annual affair.
He was the only guests who got to shoot the 240-B light machine gun that fires a 7.65 mm NATO round. How come?
Granche was a decorated machine gunner in World War II. He served with the 326 Engineering Battalion of the "Screaming Eagles" and jumped behind the lines during the "Normandy Invasion" on June 6, 1944. From there he fought his way into Germany at the close of the war.
The 80-year-old veteran has connections. He edits a small publication called "The Air Castle" for his buddies who were "Screaming Eagles" a lifetime ago.
As he admitted the other day, "I have a list of generals in Washington and Fort Campbell."
His main reason for making the trip was to try the new machine gun. It was a far cry from the M-1919 A-4 machine gun he carried when he landed with the 101st in France during World War II.
"I was the only civilian allowed to shoot the new machine gun because I had been a machine gunner in the war," Granche said.
"It's heavy as hell, but it's a good, accurate gun," he added. "It's a beautiful defensive weapon.
"I fired the machine gun at 200 yards and hit two man-size targets. I fired it at 300 yards and hit two more," Granche said. "Then they told me to try the 400-yard targets. "I couldn't even see the damn things. That's four football fields away. That's a long distance."
They were wined and dined at the mess hall, along with the rest of the troops and put up at a local hotel.
"We had some of that good ol' greasy Army food. They presented Fran with a dozen long-stem, red roses," he said.
Granche also received a citation from Col. Peter Deluca proclaiming that he is a "A Distinguished Member of the 101st Airborne." When that old airborne soldier left the "Blue Grass State" he had a smile on his face.
The Granches' continued up to Pittsburgh, Pa., to visit their children and grandchildren before returning home.
It's a small world
Vicki Zeleny of Port Charlotte e-mailed me, "I read the article (you wrote) about Wallie Spatz in the Sun." She was the lady from Cleveland, Ohio, who was a professional silhouette artist who began her career during World War II cutting out pictures of servicemen in USO clubs in California.
"I had both my daughter and son's silhouettes done by her in 1962 in Cleveland. I bought the black oval frames to put the silhouettes in. They hung in my home for quite a while.
"When we moved to Port Charlotte, I came across them and asked my children if they wanted their pictures, and both said yes. I still remember Wallie and how fascinated they were watching her do the silhouettes.
"Now we both live in Port Charlotte. I'd say it's a small world after all," Vicki concluded.
Contact me
If you're a vet with a story or you have a friend who has a tale to tell about his part in any war or veterans' activity, give Don Moore a call at 474-5521, ext. 217 or 1 (877) 827-6204, ext. 217. You can also e-mail: moore@sun-herald.com, or fax: 426-3576. To send a letter, write: Englewood Sun, 167 W. Dearborn St., Englewood, FL 34223.
By Don Moore columnist
http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive2/080902/np9.htm?date=080902&story=np9.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Bob Granche was once a member of the 101st Airborne
It was old home week for Bob Granche of Port Charlotte at Fort Campbell, Ky., recently. This is headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division, "The Screaming Eagles,"
He was invited to come up to "The Week of the Eagles," when the fabled airborne unit struts its stuff. Granche and his wife, Fran, were among a number of guests who attended the annual affair.
He was the only guests who got to shoot the 240-B light machine gun that fires a 7.65 mm NATO round. How come?
Granche was a decorated machine gunner in World War II. He served with the 326 Engineering Battalion of the "Screaming Eagles" and jumped behind the lines during the "Normandy Invasion" on June 6, 1944. From there he fought his way into Germany at the close of the war.
The 80-year-old veteran has connections. He edits a small publication called "The Air Castle" for his buddies who were "Screaming Eagles" a lifetime ago.
As he admitted the other day, "I have a list of generals in Washington and Fort Campbell."
His main reason for making the trip was to try the new machine gun. It was a far cry from the M-1919 A-4 machine gun he carried when he landed with the 101st in France during World War II.
"I was the only civilian allowed to shoot the new machine gun because I had been a machine gunner in the war," Granche said.
"It's heavy as hell, but it's a good, accurate gun," he added. "It's a beautiful defensive weapon.
"I fired the machine gun at 200 yards and hit two man-size targets. I fired it at 300 yards and hit two more," Granche said. "Then they told me to try the 400-yard targets. "I couldn't even see the damn things. That's four football fields away. That's a long distance."
They were wined and dined at the mess hall, along with the rest of the troops and put up at a local hotel.
"We had some of that good ol' greasy Army food. They presented Fran with a dozen long-stem, red roses," he said.
Granche also received a citation from Col. Peter Deluca proclaiming that he is a "A Distinguished Member of the 101st Airborne." When that old airborne soldier left the "Blue Grass State" he had a smile on his face.
The Granches' continued up to Pittsburgh, Pa., to visit their children and grandchildren before returning home.
It's a small world
Vicki Zeleny of Port Charlotte e-mailed me, "I read the article (you wrote) about Wallie Spatz in the Sun." She was the lady from Cleveland, Ohio, who was a professional silhouette artist who began her career during World War II cutting out pictures of servicemen in USO clubs in California.
"I had both my daughter and son's silhouettes done by her in 1962 in Cleveland. I bought the black oval frames to put the silhouettes in. They hung in my home for quite a while.
"When we moved to Port Charlotte, I came across them and asked my children if they wanted their pictures, and both said yes. I still remember Wallie and how fascinated they were watching her do the silhouettes.
"Now we both live in Port Charlotte. I'd say it's a small world after all," Vicki concluded.
Contact me
If you're a vet with a story or you have a friend who has a tale to tell about his part in any war or veterans' activity, give Don Moore a call at 474-5521, ext. 217 or 1 (877) 827-6204, ext. 217. You can also e-mail: moore@sun-herald.com, or fax: 426-3576. To send a letter, write: Englewood Sun, 167 W. Dearborn St., Englewood, FL 34223.
By Don Moore columnist
http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive2/080902/np9.htm?date=080902&story=np9.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878