No Caricature this Time
Less than two months after featuring the image of Santa 'chuting in for Christmas 1`943, the tone turned to serious business.  The invasion was coming, everyone knew it, and everyone understood that the paratrooper would platy a key role in spearheading the attack.

D-Day Pep Talk
Although D-Day occurred more than three weeks before this edition was circulated, this now famous photo probably had already been seen by many G.I.'s through other media such as the Stars and Stripes newspaper.

   It is interesting to note that the Screaming Eagles shoulder page that is normally visible on the paratrooper's left shoulder has been airbrushed out in this version.  That seems like a poor piece of censorship as the Germans certainly knew by then that thje 82nd and 101st Airborne had been the two American Divisions that jumped into Normandy.

Heavily laden paratrooper
grimaces as he hauls his gear into the door of a C-47.  The weight of his weapon, ammunition and other critical items may have nearly equaled his own body weight.  Many of the men had to have other troopers push from below in order to negotiate these few stair steps.

   Exiting was far easier as mother earth's gravitational pull made certain he was headed in the right direction.  But, many aircraft were flying at a greater rate of speed than had been prescribed and the effects of aircraft slipstreams and the shock of canopy openings literally tore much of the equipment off many of the paratroopers.