Don Pratt
Don Forrester Pratt | |
---|---|
Born | July 12, 1892 Brookfield, Missouri, United States |
Died | June 6, 1944 (aged 51) Normandy, France |
Buried | Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, United States |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 1917--1944 |
Rank | Brigadier General |
Unit | Infantry Branch |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Purple Heart |
Brigadier General Don Forrester Pratt (July 12, 1892 – June 6, 1944) was a United States Army officer. He was the assistant division commander (ADC) of the 101st Airborne Division and was the highest-ranking Allied officer killed on D-Day.
Biography
Early life
Born in Brookfield, Missouri, Pratt graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1917. He received his commission as a second lieutenant after enlisting in the army during World War I, in August 1917.[1]
From 1932 to 1936, he served as adjutant,
Invasion of Normandy
For the
Pratt flew as a passenger (along with his aide 1st Lt. Lee John May) in the lead glider, a quickly substituted CG-4A with a bolt-on Griswold nose protection device painted to represent The Fighting Falcon.
The Waco glider landed successfully but when Lieutenant Colonel Murphy applied the brakes, the wet tall grass caused the glider to skid without significant slowing, and it overran the landing zone, crashing into a
Pratt was first buried, wrapped in a parachute, in Normandy until the end of the war, then re-interred at Arlington National Cemetery (Section 11) July 26, 1948.[1] He was succeeded by Gerald J. Higgins, making Higgins the youngest general officer in the Ground Forces during World War II.
Fictionalization
The incident was fictionalized as a scene in the film Saving Private Ryan, with Pratt becoming Brigadier General Amend.[3]
References
- Neillands, Robert, and Roderick de Normann, (2004). - D-Day 1944 - Voices from Normandy. - New York, New York: Cold Spring Press. - ISBN 1-59360-012-7
- Norberg, John, (2003). - Wings of Their Dreams: Purdue in Flight. - West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press. - pp. 159–160. - ISBN 1-55753-362-8
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d Don F. Pratt. - Arlington National Cemetery. - Retrieved: 2008-06-08
- ^ a b c d e Eckert, David. - Waco Drawings - Tribute to the American Combat Glider Pilots of World War II. - (c/o www.pointvista.com). - Retrieved: 2008-06-08
- ^ Saving Private Ryan: Brigadier General Amend. - Saving Private Ryan Online Encyclopedia. - Retrieved: 2008-06-08