Sam Gibbons - Military Career

Military Career

After the outbreak of World War II, Gibbons joined the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant in late 1941. He attained the rank of Captain in the 101st Airborne before entering combat in June 1944. At 1:00 a.m. on D-day, June 6, 1944, Capt. Gibbons, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, arrived by parachute near Carentan, France on the Cotentin Peninsula. On June 13, 1944, the main German forces counterattacked south of Carentan, in a battle between German tanks and the American paratroopers lasting all day, 6 am to 10 pm, the paratroopers gave ground, defending in depth, and bent but did not break before restoring the pre-dawn line of defense. Of the 600 paratroopers that began that day fewer than 400 soldiers remained. Gibbons could count a dozen burning tanks from his view of the battlefield. The battle was portrayed in episode 2 of Band of Brothers. On June 30 the 101st was withdrawn to England becoming the first battle-tested troops to return. He was later awarded the Bronze Star for his actions in Normandy. Gibbons and the rest of the 101st went on to successfully take the first bridge in the operation in the Netherlands known as Operation Market Garden (described in Cornelius Ryan's book A Bridge Too Far). In December 1944 the 101st was in reserve when orders came down to load up on trucks and move to Bastogne to hold and await resupply. Against very long odds the 101st held successfully with dwindling supplies, once famously telling the German commander "Nuts" in response to a surrender request. Several movies have been made concerning the "Battle of the Bulge." The 101st moved on to lead the way into Germany and eventually take Hitler's Eagle's Nest before meeting up with the advancing Red Army. Gibbons served in the European campaign until the end of the war. Shortly before German forces surrendered, Capt. Gibbons was promoted to Major; however, a communications delay prevented Gibbons from learning of his promotion until after he had been honorably discharged. Upon returning home to Florida he wrote "I was there" (which has since been translated into French.) He was awarded the French Medal of Valor in 2004 at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial during the 60th anniversary of D-day.