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 New Market Paratrooper Fights
n Famed 82nd Airborne Group
New Market --- Pvt. Leonard Sacharoff of School St., North Stelton section, is a member of the 82nd Airborne Division of Paratroopers who recently fought for 33 days in J France without relief, according to a release from the 82nd Division Headquarters in Normandy.
The soldiers of that parachute infantry regiment dropped over a wide area on D-Day and were unable to assemble as a tactical unit until four days later.
The regiment, nevertheless, played a brilliant role in carrying out the mission of the airborne troops, which was to prevent the Germans from interfering with the ground assault
force until the beach landings had been accomplished, it is reported.
Captured Ste Mere-Eglise
To achieve their mission the 82nd captured the town of Ste Mere-Eglise and fought for and held bridges over two rivers, the Merderet at La
Fiere and Chef du Pont, and the Douve at Pont l'Abbe and Beuzeville la Bastille. A large pocket of Allied resistance within enemy lines was set up. During the campaign it stretched from Ste Mere on the east to St. Sauveur le Vicomte on the west, and from Le Ham on the north almost to La Haye de Puits on the south. This was accomplished in 33 days of action, without relief and without replacements. Every mission was accomplished. More ground gained ever was relinquished. For nearly 34 hours, or until noon of the day after D-Day, the paratroopers were without contact with friendly forces. And though heavy casualties were sustained throughout the campaign, nothing stopped the troops for long. Dropped in Groups
The paratroopers of this regiment were dropped in several groups
and at first these groups fell in with other units of the division
rather than their own'. It was not until four days after D-Day that the
regiment assembled as a tactical unit.
Before this, however, they had struck
terrific blows. With other units of the division they forced the enemy
west of the Merderet River at the start. Another element joined in the
heavy fighting at Chef du Pont, finally contacting an isolated battalion
and establishing a bridgehead on the west bank of the Merderet opposite
Other elements went south to clear out Carquebut; crossed the river at
La Fiere and! assaulted Guetteville. The latte action was assisted by a naval barrage from the sea arranged by a naval liaison officer with the regiment. Knock Out Enemy Tanks After being pulled together as a unit, the regiment jumped off fori the attack on Beuzeville la Bastille.! After crossing the Douve, it swept on through the Cretteville-Bauptel area. During this drive, many enemy tanks were encountered and many were knocked out. Trucks moved the regiment to Pont l'Abbe for the general attack toward St. Sauveur. The regiment followed another of the division, driving the enemy west, north and south. Participating in the drive on Pro-tot, a squad encountered a Mark IV. tank (.00 yard? north of the town and succeeded in knocking It out with a hand-thrown
British grenade. The regiment took up a defensive position at Vindefontaine before joining in the drive toward La Haye de Puits. Heavy fighting was experienced in Bois de Limors, and one element which eventually took "Hill 95" sustained heavy casualties. Yankee
Intuition The commanding officer used his intuition in directing the artillery fire, according to an artillery officer,
and thus caught the Germans' doing what he would have done under
similar circumstances. Accordingly he swept an orchard with fire, Later a prisoner told that the German force preparing for an assault on "Hill 95" had been virtually wiped out by this hit. The hard training, incomparable self-reliance and bravado of all the men added another chapter to the history of the 82nd Division of which Private Sacharoff is a member. The local man attended New Brunswick High School prior to entering the service.
[ [The Central New Jersey Home News, New Brunswick, NJ27 Feb 1945, Tue, Page 2] |
 Soldier Sent to English Hospital
NORTH STELTON, Feb. 27--- Cpl. Leonard Sacharoff, 21, who received recognition in the D-Day invasion when his Paratrooper division saw days of action without relief or replacement, is now hospitalized in England for injuries received in Germany on February 1.
The War Department notified his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Simon Sacharoff of School street on Thursday that the paratrooper had been injured.
Since then his brother, Victor Sacharoff, an electrical engineering student at the University of Maryland, has received
a letter from his brother stating his feet were frost bitten.
Cpl. Sacharoff also has written his mother that although hospitalized in England he is in perfect health, that he is helping the nurses.
"They sure need help here," he wrote, adding, "here you see the tragedies of war that you don't see at the front."
Cpl. Sacharoff was attending New Brunswick High School when he enlisted in the Army. He reported at Fort Dix in November, 1942, and received training at Camp Toccoa, Toccoa, Ga., Camp Blanding, Fla.; Fort Benning, Ga., and Camp
Mackall, N. C. He went to England in January, 1944, and after landing in France
also served in Holland and Belgium.
Cpl. Sacharoff is a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, which successfully prevented the Germans from interfering with the ground assault force until beach landings had been accomplished, during the invasion.
Leonard enlisted in the Army at Camden, NJ on 21
November 1942.
On 8 December 1944, Pfc Sacharoff was sent on Detached
Service with the 9th Troop Carrier command, Pathfinder School. He
returned to the company on 14 January 1945.
His military decorations include the Bronze Service
Arrowhead awarded for participation in the Normandy assault.
Leonard passed away on
Apr 25, 2020 in Renton, WA. No other
details are yet available.
[The Courier-News, Bridgewater, NJ, 23 Aug 1944, Wed, Page 3]
Leonard enlisted in the Army at Camden, NJ on 21
November 1942.
On 8 December 1944, Pfc Sacharoff was sent on Detached
Service with the 9th Troop Carrier command, Pathfinder School. He
returned to the company on 14 January 1945.
His military decorations include the Bronze Service
Arrowhead awarded for participation in the Normandy assault.
Leonard passed away on
Apr 25, 2020 in R3enton, WA. No other
details are yet available.
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Leonard Sacharoff, Bellevue WWII veteran who parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, dies of
coronavirus
Editor's note: We often hear about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in
numbers of cases and deaths. But each data point represents a human life
whose loss is felt by countless other people. We are chronicling some of
them in an obituary series called Lives Remembered.
There was something unusual about Leonard Sacharoff: He was always happy.
There was rarely a time when Mr. Sacharoff's family and friends saw the former paratrooper, marathoner and unrepentant singer without a smile on his face or a song in his heart.
"The thing that impressed most people, including myself, was that he always seemed to have this good-natured, even-keeled thing going," said Ira Sacharoff, his son. "Like, no matter what. He was a sweetheart. For a guy who jumped out of airplanes holding a machine gun, he was the sweetest, mellowest guy."
Mr. Sacharoff died April 26 of complications from COVID-19. The Bellevue resident was 96.
Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Mr. Sacharoff lived a robust life in his home state before moving to the Seattle area in 2010 to be closer to his family after the death of his wife of 55 years, Clare.
Mr. Sacharoff's sunny attitude drove many of his accomplishments in life.
The plucky youth grew up in the Ferrer Colony, an anarchist utopian community in Stelton, New Jersey. His attendance at The Modern School was optional, "where you didn't have to go to class if you didn't feel like it," Ira Sacharoff said. And young Leonard often didn't feel like it.
"Well, my father spent a lot of time going fishing instead," Ira Sacharoff said.
The young Sacharoff was smart enough to know he was falling behind as he entered fifth grade, however.
"Because some neighbor kid of his, who my father always thought of as kind of stupid, knew fractions and he was two years younger than my father," Sacharoff said. "So he enrolled himself in the public school."
In 1942, Mr. Sacharoff enlisted in the army at 19, joining the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
"He volunteered because he was very much opposed to Hitler," Ira Sacharoff said.
The Red Devils, with their battle cry "Diablo!," participated in some of the most important and harrowing battles in World War II.
Mr. Sacharoff dropped in behind enemy lines on D-Day — June 6, 1944 — as part of the largest air operation in history. Operation Neptune included 10,000 Americans who landed by parachute and glider, according to the 508th's unit history.
Mr. Sacharoff and his fellow soldiers were charged with capturing a pair of bridges over the Douve River, controlling the Germans' ability to send in reinforcements and resupply.
They were on the ground in Normandy for 33 days.
Mr. Sacharoff remembered the early days of the invasion with a colorful anecdote in "The 508th Connection," a history of the unit's experiences by Zig Boroughs.
"They sent me to buy eggs because I could speak French," he said. "The Norman farmers wouldn't sell me anything, but some street-wise kid with a Tommy gun, talking like a Chicago gangster, came back with 200 eggs."
In December 1944, Mr. Sacharoff fought in the Battle of the Bulge, the largest battle of World War II. The 508th unit took heavy losses.
Ira Sacharoff said his father didn't speak of his experiences in Europe until much later in life, "maybe because of trauma."
"It had to be pretty intense," Ira Sacharoff said. "He parachuted into some really major battles. I read about the statistics of casualties of the 508th Paratrooper Infantry Regiment that he was a part of. It was exceptionally high."
Mr. Sacharoff married Clare in 1953 and had two children, Ira and Debbie. He worked for 40 years as a quality control analyst in a Union Carbide plastics factory. He moved to Seattle two years after his wife's death in 2008, and lived in the area for a decade before his death.
Mr. Sacharoff was an avid singer. A member of his high school choir, he participated in musical theater after the war and was a member of senior choirs late in life. In his 50s, he turned to long-distance running and ran marathons, his son said. Sacharoff continued to run shorter races into his 80s.
"His doctor told him he should lose a little weight and maybe consider getting some regular exercise, like taking walks," Ira Sacharoff said. "And his thought was, 'Hey, I was a paratrooper. Paratroopers don't go for walks.' So he picked up running."
Ira Sacharoff said his father is survived by his children, a grandchild and two great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at a later date, and Mr. Sacharoff will be interred at Tahoma National Cemetery.
Though he was 96, Mr. Sacharoff had showed no signs of slowing down, remaining independent and choosing to live alone rather than with his family.
He was a fighter to the end, looking forward to one last battle with his trademark good humor.
"It's funny, my father had been in the hospital in November with pneumonia and when he got out, he was making a really good recovery," Ira Sacharoff said. "And I said to him, 'So you want to live to 100, dad?' And he said, 'Well, I don't know about that. But I have to live at least until November.' And I said, 'Why is that?' And he said, 'So I can vote against Trump.'"
[Seattle Times, The: Web Edition Articles (WA) - Monday, May 25, 2020]
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