Uncle Matty Comes Home
Description
On Saint Patrick's Day 2016, Jim Farrell received a surprising email: an M-1 rifle engraved with the name M. Teahanhad been discovered in Normandy 72 years after its owner, Martin (Matty) Teahan, Jim's uncle, had been killed in the June 1944 D-Day invasion of France. A young private in the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Matty had been laid to rest beside his fellow heroes in the Normandy American Cemetery, but now French Army General Patrick Collet was writing to inform the family that Matty's rifle had been recovered and was safe in his possession. Luck of the Irish!
Thus began Jim Farrell's adventure of discovery and self-discovery, as he and his family embarked on the successful quest to bring his uncle home in spirit by repatriating his historic rifle. A saga spanning four generations and multiple countries, the rifle's extraordinary journey and recovery is also the story of Matty Teahan, a humble private made of the stuff that made so many of his generation great-the strength of character, courage, and will-power to prevail against great odds, and the guts, determination, and sheer daring-do to jump out of a perfectly good airplane over enemy territory.
Martin Teahan's emblematic M-1 rifle currently hangs in office of the Chief of Staff of the US Army, awaiting donation to the new US Army Museum at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Similarly, the Farrell family's quest represents something larger than itself: the intensifying search by the children of the Greatest Generation to understand the facts and meaning of their fathers' and grandfathers' war, and their intense desire to come to terms with the often tragic, yet seldom discussed, repercussions of the death and violence their elders experienced in World War II.
More details
Persons
Content
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
PROLOGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvii
Saint Jerome's Church: A Landmark and a Trigger . . . . . .xvii
PART ONE
UNCLE MATTY'S WORLD: THE IRISH SOUTH BRONX NEIGHBORHOOD, FAMILY, AND THE GREATEST GENERATION
CHAPTER 1
Born to be Airborne . . . . 3
CHAPTER 2
Uncle Matty's Irish South Bronx, by Bill McWeeney . . . . 11
CHAPTER 3
Two Martins from the Greatest Generation . . . . 25
CHAPTER 4
Matty's Family . . . . 31
CHAPTER 5
My Father Mickey . . . . 49
CHAPTER 6
A Soldier and His Rifle . . . . 69
CHAPTER 7
I Owe You Big Time, Uncle Matty . . . . 75
CHAPTER 8
Beyond Dying-Killed in Action . . . . 87
PART TWO
UNCLE MATTY'S WAR: D-DAY, NORMANDY-THE 508TH PARACHUTE INFANTRY REGIMENT IN COMBAT
CHAPTER 9
The Parachutist's Creed . . . . 99
CHAPTER 10
My Normandy Invasion Experience, by O.B. Hill . . . . 103
CHAPTER 11
A Conversation with Rock Merritt, "Mr. 508th" . . . . 115
CHAPTER 12
Distinguished Unit Citation: 508th PIR . . . . 127
MAPS
82nd Airborne Division, 508 PIR Drop Pattern, June 6, 1994 . . . . 133
D-Day near the Merderet River . . . . 135
Crossing La Fière Causeway . . . . 137
The 508 at Chef-du-Pont . . . . 139
PART THREE
SEARCHING FOR UNCLE MATTY: THE FAMILY QUEST IN EUROPE-ADVENTURES IN NORMANDY AND NOTTINGHAM
CHAPTER 13
My Hero, General Patrick Collet . . . . 143
CHAPTER 14
The Rock Stars of 1944 . . . . 151
CHAPTER 15
Our Journey to Nottingham . . . . 159
PART FOUR
UNCLE MATTY COMES HOME: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
CHAPTER 16
Uncle Matty Comes Home . . . . 171
CHAPTER 17
Mission Accomplished! . . . . 179
PART FIVE
RECALLING TIMES PAST: FRIENDS AND HEROES AT HOME AND IN COMBAT
CHAPTER 18
Uncle Matty's Best Friend, Jim McMahon . . . . 189
CHAPTER 19
Uncle Matty's Army Buddy, Art Jacoby . . . . 195
CHAPTER 20
A Family Friendship with the Donahues . . . . 201
CHAPTER 21
A Family Friendship with O.B. Hill . . . . 209
CHAPTER 22
Rock Merritt and the Battle that Started It All, by Eve Meinhardt . . . . 221
PART SIX
TORCH BEARERS: YOUNGER GENERATIONS PRESERVING HISTORY
CHAPTER 23
Liz's Special Connection to Uncle Matty . . . . 229
CHAPTER 24
Walking with Ghosts: A Talk with Glyn Shipstone . . . . 237
CHAPTER 25
Uncle Matty's French Angel, Valérie Gautier Cardin . . . . 247
CHAPTER 26
Lucien's Wall, Le Mur du Souvenir . . . . 255
EPILOGUE
Saint Jerome's Church: Uncle Matty Brings the Family Together . . . . 271
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . 281
ILLUSTRATIONS
Photo galleries follow pages 140 and 186
