Brigadier General Don Forrester Pratt (July 12, 1892 – June 6, 1944) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

. He was the assistant division commander (ADC) of the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

and was the highest-ranking Allied officer killed on

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

Biography

Early life

Born in

Brookfield, Missouri Brookfield is a city in Linn County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,111 at the 2020 census. History Brookfield was surveyed in 1859 by John Wood Brooks, a native of Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in t ...

, Pratt graduated from the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

in 1917. He received his commission as a second lieutenant after enlisting in the army during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in August 1917.Don F. Pratt
-

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

. - Retrieved: 2008-06-08 From 1932 to 1936, he served as adjutant, 15th Infantry Regiment, in

Tientsin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the 2020 Chinese census. Its metropoli ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Next he was an instructor, for the infantry school at

Fort Benning, Georgia Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

, from 1937 until 1941. Upon the United States entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was named chief-of-staff, 43rd Infantry Division, 1941-1942. His next assignment, in August 1942, was as the deputy commander, for the newly formed 101st Airborne Division, at the rank of brigadier general. Pratt was named the assistant division commander on September 15, 1943, under Major General

William C. Lee Major General William Carey Lee (March 12, 1895 – June 25, 1948) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in World War I and World War II, during which he commanded the 101st Airborne Division, nicknamed the "Screaming Eagles". Lee is ...

. Stationed near the town of Newbury,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, on February 9, 1944, Lee suffered a major heart attack. Pratt thought that he would be chosen to succeed Lee, but

Maxwell D. Taylor Maxwell Davenport Taylor (26 August 1901 – 19 April 1987) was a senior United States Army Officer (armed forces), officer and diplomat during the Cold War. He served with distinction in World War II, most notably as commander of the 101st Air ...

, then 82nd Airborne artillery commander, was given command of the 101st Airborne.

Invasion of Normandy

For the American airborne landings as part of the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

, General Pratt, originally assigned to command the division

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

and

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

troops of the 101st to be landed by sea, received permission to land with a force of

CG-4A Waco The Waco CG-4 was the most widely used American troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4A by the United States Army Air Forces, and given the service name Hadrian (after the Roman emperor) by the British. The ...

gliders assigned to Mission Chicago, the first American glider assault during the invasion.Eckert, David. -
Waco Drawings
- Tribute to the American Combat Glider Pilots of World War II. - (c/o www.pointvista.com). - Retrieved: 2008-06-08 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 original "Fighting Falcon" was moved to position #45 in the flight serial. It was a CG-4A paid for by

War Bond War bonds (sometimes referred to as victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are Security (finance)#Debt, debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an un ...

funds raised by

Greenville, Michigan Greenville is a city in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population 8,816 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most populous city in Montcalm County, Michigan, Montcalm Co ...

students who intended to raise the $17,000 cost of one glider, but ended up raising over $72,000. Piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Mike Murphy, senior glider pilot of

IX Troop Carrier Command The IX Troop Carrier Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Greenville Army Air Base, South Carolina. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946 as a component command of the Ninth ...

, and Second Lieutenant John M. Butler, the #1 glider came down into its designated

landing zone In military terminology a landing zone (LZ) is an area where aircraft can land. In the United States military, a landing zone is the actual point where aircraft, especially helicopters, land (equivalent to the commonwealth landing point.)The Han ...

, LZ "E", west of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont,

Manche Manche (, ; Norman language, Norman: ) is a coastal Departments of France, French ''département'' in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy on the English Channel, which is known as , literally "the sleeve", in French. Manche is bordered by ...

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, between 0345 and 0400 hours on June 6, 1944. 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

hedgerow A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced (3 feet or closer) shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate ...

line of

poplar tree ''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood. The we ...

s. Lieutenant Colonel Murphy suffered severe injuries with both legs broken, one a

compound fracture An open fracture, also called a compound fracture, is a type of bone fracture (broken bone) that has an open wound in the skin near the fractured bone. The skin wound is usually caused by the bone breaking through the surface of the skin. An open fr ...

. A tree limb impaled through the co-pilot side of the cockpit, killing Butler. Pratt, sitting in the Jeep, died from a

cervical fracture A cervical fracture, commonly called a broken neck, is a fracture of any of the seven cervical vertebrae in the neck. Examples of common causes in humans are traffic collisions and diving into shallow water. Abnormal movement of neck bones or pie ...

of the spine, resulting from whiplash. The Jeep was not chained but was tied down with

nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

rope, and did not break loose. Lieutenant May was riding on the jump seat behind the Jeep and survived the crash. Pratt was first buried, wrapped in a

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

, in Normandy until the end of the war, then re-interred at

(Section 11) July 26, 1948. 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 ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set in 1944 in Normandy, France, during World War II, it follows a group of soldiers, led by Captain John Miller ( Tom Hanks) ...

'', with Pratt becoming Brigadier General Amend.Saving Private Ryan: Brigadier General Amend
- Saving Private Ryan Online Encyclopedia. - Retrieved: 2008-06-08

References

*Neillands, Robert, and Roderick de Normann, (2004). - ''D-Day 1944 - Voices from Normandy''. - New York, New York: Cold Spring Press. - *Norberg, John, (2003). - ''Wings of Their Dreams: Purdue in Flight''. - West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press. - pp. 159–160. -

Footnotes

External links

Don F. Pratt Memorial Museum
at

Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Div ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Don 1892 births 1944 deaths Burials at Arlington National Cemetery People from Brookfield, Missouri United States Army personnel killed in World War II United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army generals of World War II Military personnel from Missouri United States Army Infantry Branch personnel University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1944 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in France