Cockleshell Raid, by Ken Ford review

Remember that sophisticated British officer in the film Inglorius Basterds who joins Brad Pitt on the commando raid in France? Osprey Publishing's new addition to their "Raid" series highlights the efforts of fourteen intrepid men just like that character (but they're real). The Cockleshell Raid is about the Brits' daring 1942 raid in the German-occupied French port of Bordeaux. Their mission was to blow-up the cargo ships which had been slipping past the British blockade of Europe. The ships supplied the Germans with crucial materials for their war effort. Unable to catch the block-runner at sea and unable to reach the inland port by conventional means, the British developed a commando raid. They sent seven specially developed two-man canoes up the River Garonne. They were to plant their special explosives and flee through France and Spain to be picked-up at British-controlled Gibraltar. Only four men succeeded in their mission. Only two men survived the mission.

Ken Ford presents a detailed and thrilling account of the ill-fated raid on Bordeaux. Osprey offers informative photographs, maps, and two original color illustrations. I have long been aware of the raids made by British commandos in the period before the Normandy invasion. This is the first book I have read on this fascinating subject and I am glad I did. I look forward to reading more in this series.

Fort Bridger, Wyoming

Officers' quarters
On the way back from a business trip yesterday, I and my family stopped at Fort Bridger in Wyoming. The site was opened by mountain man Jim Bridger in 1843. He and a partner supplied the pioneers heading west. Bridger was driven out by the Mormons in 1853. They fortified his camp with a formidable stone wall and occupied the outpost for their defense against the US Army's Utah Expedition in 1857. The Mormon forces burned all the buildings before their retreat from the approaching government troops. After things settled down with the Mormons that autumn, the US Army took control of the site and rebuilt the outpost's buildings. The troops maintained Fort Bridger to protect pioneers from Indian raids and bandits. In November 1890 it was abandoned by the Army and it entered private hands. In 1933 it was acquired by the state of Wyoming. It was a great place to stop for our picnic lunch and it's a interesting historic site.

Ice house

Pistols from the general store
Fur trade exhibit in the museum
A bear trap

A scale model of the fort donated to the historic site in 1955. (It seems just the right size for 28mm models.)


Diorama!

Gun collection in the museum

The manly interior design of the fort's commanding officer

Check out these wild rugs: buffalo and mountain lion.

I enjoyed the historic site's collection of post-Civil War military stuff, but there was also plenty to entertain the girls. As a cookbook author, my wife was intrigued by the 19th century kitchen and dining room displays. There was plenty to entertain the kids, and the buildings and expansive grounds were attractive. My wife suggested they must host wedding receptions there. I don't know about that, but there is a yearly living history event with mountain men in period garb shooting muzzle-loaded weapons.

Fort Bridger is in the far south western corner of Wyoming, just off route 80. There doesn't seem to be a website for the historic site, but here's the phone number if you want to visit: 307-782-3842.

My Grandpa's D-Day story

On my book-writing blog I posted an excerpt from my book, Longshore Soldiers. It's my grandfather's story of his D-Day experience on Utah Beach.

In the news today is the story of another US Army port company veteran. Attached to the 1st Engineer Special Brigade the 490th worked on Utah Beach alongside my grandfather's unit, the 519th. You can read his article here on the Chattanooga Times Free Press website.

A May 27 interview includes an interesting quote from him on the subject of segregation. The Army's institutional racism was briefly set aside due to the intensity of the June 6th invasion:

"And there wasn't no segregation there on the beach that day. There wasn't any segregation at all. It made ya think. It made you think a lot. We're here, we're all serving together, and we're all getting along together today. Why couldn't this happen tomorrow and the next day, ya know?"