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”The Greatest of the Greatest Generation"

In the evening of June 5, 1944, Marty and Mac bid each other god-speed  and good luck, climbed into different planes, and about 0230 hours, June 6, 1944 they parachuted into Normandy, France. They never met again. 

James (Mac) McMahon remembers.

“I met Martin Teahan’s sister when she visited me after the war. I was able to tell her about Marty’s life overseas.  

I recently wrote to Marty’s niece Elizabeth Farrell, in response to her request for information.  I hadn’t written a letter in thirty years.”  

Note: Mac’s letter to Elizabeth provides unique insights into Martin Teahan’s personality, mannerisms, joys and concerns. Mac’s recollections are priceless – they serve the purpose for this album - to convey to historians, researchers, students, and others a profile of the kind of men who fought in WW II as paratroopers. 

In his letter, Mac told Elizabeth.

“Yes, I knew your uncle ‘Marty.’  We were ‘buddies’ from the very beginning of our Army tour of duty. We went through basic training, parachutist training, and unit tactical training in the United States and overseas.

We met in Camp Upton.  At the time, we both had been in the Army 6 or 7 days, and we were together right up to when we boarded our planes to jump into Normandy on D-Day.

Marty was assigned to board one plane and I was assigned to another. Before boarding our planes, we wished each other good luck and shook hands. That was the last time I saw Marty. 

As I said earlier, Marty and I were buddies. We were very young. We both liked a good time and when you were with Marty that is what you got -- a good time! 

We met girls, went to dances, bars, Army Canteens, etc. They were ‘fun’ places during the war – there was nothing else.

Marty was a great dancer. He loved those crazy ‘Jitter Bug’ steps that were so popular in those days. Once he got started on the dance floor, you could not get him off the floor. The English girls loved to dance with him. Moreover, they loved his ‘New York Bronx’ accent that was rare in England.

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album or pages thereof – providing such actions are not undertaken for profit.
Page 130
of 219 Pages

Copyright and all other rights reserved by the Family and Friends of The 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment Association or by those who are otherwise cited,
For problems or questions regarding this web site, please contact
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Copyright and all other rights reserved by the Family and Friends of The 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment Association or by those who are otherwise cited,
For problems or questions regarding this web site, please contact
Jumpmaster.