footsteps of freedom
Whitehouse veteran revisits campaigns of WW II

J.L. Beam in his paratrooper gear. The 101st Airborne was formed during World War II and comprised an elite group of jumpers. The division needed men who could survive being dropped from an airplane behind enemy lines and still fight and win. Only one in three men passed the selection criteria to serve in the 101st, which included a 140-mile march in three days and rigorous airborne training.

The 101st has no history, but it has a rendezvous with destiny.

-- General William C. Lee

As a member of the famed 101st Airborne Division, formed during World War II, Whitehouse resident J.L. Beam had his second date with destiny recently when he joined an international group of veterans and returned to the historic sites and battlefields of Europe.

The 20-day tour, "In the Footsteps of Heroes," was sponsored by The Greatest Generations Foundation, a Denverbased non-profit educational organization that is committed to offering combat veterans the opportunity to revisit the sites of their battlefield campaigns.

Freda and J.L. Beam

"Their dedication and bravery must never be forgotten, nor should the value of their deeds be allowed to disappear into the annals of history," says the Greatest Generations Foundation website.

That larger purpose is important, but these visits also facilitate a more intimate need ... the reunion of soldiers with the people they helped liberate.

"They are very appreciative of their freedom," said J.L. "It made me feel so good that I had been there and helped liberate them. You get the greatest feeling you can ever have when you help give somebody back their freedom."

The trip for J.L. began on April 29 when he flew from Dallas to Denver. Following a ceremony at the World War II memorial in Littleton, Colo., the next stop was London for sightseeing and tours of the battleship HMS Belfast and the Winston Churchill war rooms.

The group of 24 veterans, chosen from different areas of service, also visited airfields and bomb shelters and heard stories from those who experienced the bombing of Britain.

After England, the itenarary included France, Luxemburg, Belgium and Germany, where the group was on hand for the 62nd anniversary celebration of the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp.

Most of the stops included some type of formal ceremonies and the chance for the veterans to honor their fallen comrades. The returning heroes were also honored and thanked, both through planned presentations and spontaneous encounters.

J.L. spotted several locals wearing the same 101st Airborne cap he wore.

"When the people in the villages would see you in this hat, they would stop and talk. And thank us for coming over," he said.

At Omaha Beach, where scores of Allied soldiers lost their lives in the D-Day landings, J.L. received a scarf and a decorated stone from a 10-year-old German girl. On one side of the stone was her name, Marcy; on the other side she had drawn an ocean and a sunset.

"They assigned each veteran a school child," explained J.L. "They still know what happened. They try and teach them that this can't happen again."

J.L. was part of the Normandy invasion, although he landed at St. Comodumont instead of the Omaha Beach target. Factors such as weather often caused the paratroopers to miss their marks.

"We were scattered out in places we weren't supposed to be," he said, describing how the soldiers used "crickets" to make popping noises to identify themselves. "That's the way we reassembled."

J.L. placed a wreath on Omaha Beach and recalled an experience of one of his friends.

"I had a buddy from Teaselville (J.L.'s hometown) serve with me. He became a medic and was at Omaha Beach. He said he had never seen as many dead paratroopers or bodies in his life."

J.L.'s friend did not know that his unit had not landed on target. "He went through there, turning them over, trying to find me," he said.

On his return trip, J.L. met the mayor of St. Comodumont and was shown a church that still had the remains of two parachutes hanging from it. "One of them died, and one got away," they told J.L.

Despite being on the front lines of the war, J.L. was never wounded, which turned out to be a drawback to getting sent home.

"You got points for being married, points for each child, points for getting a Purple Heart," he said. "I didn't have any of those so they were all coming home before me."

J.L. re-enlisted as a paratrooper and then after the war he joined the Air Force, retiring in 1963. He service took him all over the world and eventually to Roswell, N.M., where he met his future wife, Freda.

Freda was a farmer and J.L. worked in the commissary; they met at an NCO dance.

"I always hoped while I was over there that I would come home and meet a good woman, have a family and educate them," he said. "I went through World War II without an education, and I thought if the good Lord would let me do that we would make some progress."

He and Freda came to Whitehouse, and J.L. reports proudly that his three daughters all went to college. He and his wife still live in the same house where they raised their family, where the girls -- all three twirlers -- practiced their routines in the driveway.

As a soldier, J.L. Beam has been there and back again, getting the chance to see with new eyes the people and places from the were the face of the war.

He and his unit raided Hitler's Eagle's Nest retreat in the German Alps, looking for hiding Nazis. Visiting the site again on this tour, he calls the scenic view "the most beautiful sight the eye has ever seen."

"A lot times we never did know exactly what we were over there for, but now we see how wonderful freedom is. You can't put a price on freedom."