This in from Bill Donegan:
This is a report on what Debbie Wenig has dubbed “The Longest Week-end”
Three West Virginia Gebirgsjagers and two wives traveled from Charleston, Fairmont and Morgantown WV to attend this years re-enactment of the Normandy invasion.
Jim Barnes, Morgantown, was the first one to arrive early on Friday and was the first one to put up a tent in the German camp. Ron and Debbie Wenig from Fairmont were next to arrive and immediately began shopping. Linda and I went straight to our motel and tried to register but were too early. We went to register first.
Linda Donegan was registered as one of only ten French Resistance intrepreters so she immediately set out, from registration, to locate the French Resistance camp (Which was located on the edge of the German camp). Linda and I were still in our normal traveling clothes.
I heard about a new battle scenario which was to take place Friday evening between the French Resistance and the few Germans who had arrived. I met Oberleutnant Donnie Sturm of the 28th Jagers, who was to be the gebirg/luftwaffe fallschirm commander and attended the officers meeting with him to learn the details of the scenario. I then changed into German uniform.
Armed with the knowledge of exactly what was supposed to take place, I briefed Jim Barnes (Ron was still shopping). Jim and I took our places manning the the German road block, just up the hill from a vital intersection. Behind our position was a bombed out cottage where the Luftwaffe had set up their MG 42.
When the action began Jim and I were pacing back and forth across the width of the road when we were approached by two young French women, Sarah Lockwood and Molley Sampson. I approached the two young women saying, “Bonjour Mademoiselle, Bon apres-midi, ihre ausweiss bitte”. I got two blank stares, the girls froze. I repeated my demand. ” Papieren bitte, ihren ausweiss”. Slowly the two women began walking backwards while drawing pistols out of their baskets and purses. I yelled to Jim, “Jakob das ist nicht gut” when a shot was fired and Jim immediately fell to the ground. I had no time to check on Jim because about ten resistance fighters appeared out of the woods behind the two women. All the French were armed with machine guns. They opened up on me. I had to throw myself to the ground and roll down hill (all in plain view of the assembled spectators) . When I stopped rolling I was supposed to have gotten up and run to the cover of the bombed out cottage, but I was too dizzy to get up. I rolled onto my stomach and emptied my K-98. Under coveting fire fro the MG 42 and the rifles of the other gebirgjagers, I got up and ran across the road to the cover of the cottage.
The Germans were holding off the French with a barrage of machine gun and small arms fire when one of the Frenchmen, who had been wounded, surrendered to us. One of the luftwaffe jagers accompanied the Frenchman back to the German camp. Suddenly we were attacked in the rear by the Americans. We were about to be surrounded. Oblt. Sturm ordered us to withdraw to the woods. I ran up the hill and got behind a tree. I got off two shots from my mauser before I was shot dead by two Americans.
All the Germans who had been manning the road block had been killed. The Americans cautiously moved up. I then realized that I had died in the perfect spot. Directly opposite the audience. A group of GIs decided to stop at my motionless body and set up a defensive position. I prayed that nobody had a Browning Automatic Rifle, as ear-plugs are totally ineffective under the sound of that gun.
Suddenly the Waffen SS staged a counter attack and the Americans were driven off.
After this scenereo had played out, Jim and I were approached by Tino Stuckman, who was making a movie entitled, “Red Rose of Normandy”. Mr. Stuckman asked us to remain in full kit so that he could film the action at the beginning where the two French Resistance women had been shot by the Germans. The story was changed around to fit in with the movie and Jim and I, who were then joined by Ron Wenig and Ryan Kaegebein, began acting under the direction of Tino Stuckman. We spent about three hours shooting the road block scene over and over from every angle imaginable.
Needless to say, we three Jagers from West Virginia were worn out after this, the first day of movie acting. This concludes the first installment of this first epic battle of the French Resistance on the longest day of the longest week-end.
Bill Donegan
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