WWII SURVIVOR · time the D-Day assault would strike. The Corps of Engineers built what was euphemistically called the ‘Sand Table,’ a small scale model of the beaches of Normandy,

WRITTEN BY JACLYN RITTER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY NANCY JONES PHOTOGRAPHY

WWII SURVIVOREDUCATOR, NEIGHBOR & FRIEND

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21Peter Burland flew photo reconnaissance missions, fought in the 2nd Armored Division on D-Day, and bared the frigid temperatures throughout the Battle of the Bulge. He served his country

proudly and continues to do so today. As a survivor of World War II, Peter has spent years openly sharing his experiences in the hopes to educate and inspire younger generations.

In December of 1942, Peter was a sophomore at Louisiana State University studying chemical engineering. While on holiday break, he returned home to Mobile, Alabama to be close to family. At the young age of 18, Peter asked his parents to sign for him in the WWII draft. He and his friend were assured by the draft

of each GI in the graduating class. Three hours and a bunch of envelopes later, the podium was empty and all the Greeks sat in an otherwise empty auditorium. They were told that instead of joining the Greek Battalion in Greece, they would go back to school to learn how to use fancy cameras and become the basis of a new U.S. Army photo reconnaissance force being organized.

Now stationed at General Dwight Eisenhower’s headquarters in London, Peter and his photo recon team were responsible for flying missions over the beaches of Normandy to scope out German defenses twice a week. He and a pilot would fly P-38’s just 150 feet off the sand capturing close-ups of mines, pill boxes, barbed wire and other beach defenses. To avoid

We can learn about World War IIfrom history books and movies,

but no one can deny the power of learning from someone who

experienced it firsthand.

board that if they volunteered they would be given their choice of branch of service. “Everybody wanted the air force – handsome, fly-by guys with sharp uniforms and all that,” notes Peter. So both of them volunteered for the air force. While his friend got his wish, as soon as they shuffled through Peter’s papers and noticed his chemical engineering major, they stationed him instead in chemical warfare.

After just eight days in chemical warfare training, the military found out that Peter spoke fluent Greek. He and 150 other Greek speaking GI’s became a part of the 5th Greek guerilla warfare class at Fort Ritchie. Together they endured seven and a half months of rigorous training. Located in the mountains of northern Maryland at Fort Ritchie, a special forces school for the OSS, they learned close order drill, hand-to-hand combat, and survival training. He and one other member were dropped off in the mountains of northern Maryland with a map written in a language they could not speak, one day’s worth of food, and were told to make their way back to the base within 48 hours. “If you made it through the course you were given high grades,” Burland said. Only 120 of the 150 original trainees made the cut. Peter Burland remembers graduation day well. The base commander stood at the podium behind a stack of envelopes that contained the fate and mission

getting pictures of the planes’ wing and engine below the cockpit, the pilot would have to slip the wings alternately in toward the ground allowing for a brief second, a perfect shot of the beach. Early on, the German gunners and aircraft bunkers fired at their P-38’s. With the German’s

not yet having invented smokeless powder, any time a shot was fired a puff of smoke would give away their location. Within seconds, the 8 to 10 P-47 fighter bombers escorting the photo recon planes would be along the ground emptying their guns on the white puff of smoke. It was almost instant death for the German who fired the shot. It did not take long before the Germans cease to fire on all photo recon planes. The photo reconnaissance teams were in daily contact with counter spies, European, Polish and Dutch underground agents, and American and British Secret Services, so that they could plot all the new information gathered onto Eisenhower’s war maps. Burland’s commanding officer would then brief Eisenhower’s staff once a week with all new information gathered on German defenses during the week.

Burland and his fellow photo reconnaissance team members stopped flying two months prior to the invasion of Normandy. At that time, they accumulated all of the information they had collected. This information would be helpful in determining Germany’s capability to

DOG BEACH - Looking west toward Vierville Sur Mer. Combat engineers before dawn on their hands and keens cleared 60-foot paths through the mine fields and beach obstacles so that landing craft could land safely.

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defend France. General Eisenhower and his staff used this information in determining where, when and at what time the D-Day assault would strike. The Corps of Engineers built what was euphemistically called the ‘Sand Table,’ a small scale model of the beaches of Normandy, from Peenemunde in the North Sea all the way to Cherbourg. While the Sand Table was a miniature of the real thing, it was not by any means small – it took up half of an airplane hangar! “The Corps of Engineers would use our information and even our pictures for scratching in all of the different pill boxes, mine fields, barbed wire, and any new defenses detected,” recalls Burland. The Sand Table depicted every detail of topography you could imagine. “The Corps of Engineers wouldn’t let us touch it! It was like a piece of art.” There came a point when all of this information had to be delivered to the units making the initial D-Day assault. Once Eisenhower made the decision of where they would attack, the Sand Table was sawed into pieces and delivered to the six or seven different Combat Divisions that were to make the initial assault on Omaha and Utah beaches. Peter and his team traveled with the Sand Table along with pictures taken from their P-38s to brief these groups on what exactly to expect when they touched ground. These men were then able to read and study their portion of the sand table for a few weeks in preparation for what lay ahead.

When all of the troops had been debriefed and no more lectures were scheduled, Eisenhower’s Aide informed the crew that they were to be assigned to the actual divisions that were going to make the initial assault on Omaha Beach. This came as nothing short of a surprise.

The men were divided into groups of twelve. Six men were now responsible for interrogating the prisoners of war and the other six, like Peter, were assigned to (artillery) photo reconnaissance. Peter was now flying in Piper Cubs 800 ft. above land looking for German panzer units. “Any tank that the Germans had, was equipped with a super high velocity cannon, which was absolutely death to an armored unit,” recalls Burland. The artillery observer would radio in the coordinates where enemy tanks had been spotted, so the 2nd Armored Division artillery battalions could find them and obliterate them.

After D-day took place, Burland and his team were packed into a convoy of landing ship tanks (LST). Infantry were packed into six boats and fitted into one LST. They sat cramped in tight quarters for several hours. While many were sea sick, tired, and sore, as soon as those doors opened they had to be prepared to fight. Their first objective on ground – relieve the paratroopers that had landed in Carentan five days earlier. The paratroopers had been fighting for days and had no food and very little ammo left. When the troops from the 66th Armored Regiment and his group arrived, they were the heroes of the day.

Continuing with their photo recon intelligence gathering, the war progressed into the heart of Germany. “The Battle of the Bulge was the toughest part of the war, largely because of the weather,” remembers Burland. Bad weather kept most planes grounded so Burland and the photo recon team now scouted the area by jeep. Peter remembers breathing through his wool scarf to avoid inhaling ice fog and coming down with pneumonia. “The temperature during the Battle of the Bulge was minus 20; we didn’t eat for three days and we didn’t turn off the engines in our vehicles for two weeks.” They had joined forces with the 83rd infantry and together they worked to trap the German spearhead against the Meuse River. While it is known as the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II, it was an important one. It was the beginning of the end for the German Army.

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Peter points out photogaphs in his collection taken during WWII.

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01 In January of 1946, Peter was discharged from the Army. He had served for three full years and had reached the rank of Master Sergeant. That month, he returned home and registered once again at Louisiana State University to finish his chemical engineering degree that he had started prior to the war. When he received his bachelor’s degree in 1949, salaries were still low and did not look promising. With two years left on his GI bill, Peter remained at LSU and earned a master’s degree in chemistry. Peter brought back as much memorabilia as he could carry from Berlin. Over the years he has accumulated enough to create his own World War II museum. Would you believe that the creators of the popular movie ‘Fury,’ starring Brad Pitt, flew out this way to meet with Peter and see his pictures and artifacts? With Peter’s help, and the help of five other 2nd Armored Division survivors, this war movie is a fairly good representation of this monumental time in our country’s history.

His favorite piece of memorabilia is his jeep. It is a replica of the one he drove in Normandy, even bearing the same name, ‘Hell Bound 2’. In fact, you may see Peter driving this very jeep in the next Fulshear city parade!

Peter Burland continues to serve his country today by giving frequent D-day lectures and educating today’s youth on America’s history, and his part within it. “I feel if my story doesn’t get out, then it is going to die with me.”

Peter Burland is a true hero, not just for what he did, but also for what he continues to do. His love and passion for life is evident to any who meet him. There is certainly nothing ordinary about Peter Burland!

DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WE SHOULD ALL KNOW? Email us at [email protected] with the subject line “someone you should know” and tell us more! d

Peter Burland’s replica WW II jeep.

PETER D. BURLAND2nd Armored Division - United States Army - Medals & Awards

Interesting Facts

• Did you know that it was a court martial offence to drive with your jeep windshield up during the war? The windshield had to be down whenever within five miles of a combat zone. If the sun caught the windshield and flashed, you had just announced your presence to the enemy. • The jeep’s headlights swing inward so that one could work under the hood in the middle of the night. One lug wrench, one pair of pliers, and one screw driver was all you needed in combat to repair anything on the jeep.

• While in a fox hole, one of their own bullets went up and came right back down again, ripping off the heel of Peter’s boot. A week later, a flight of Messerschmitt was following the bombers and one of their 9-millimeter machine gun bullets caught him in the same heel and ruined another pair of boots!

• The average age of a soldier on D-day was 26. Peter Burland was 19.

• Normandy was part swamp. Over the years the French dug channels, forcing the water to drain off. Knowing that our paratroopers were going to drop off somewhere in that area, the Germans re-flooded the area during WWII.

• In some of the pictures taken from the P-38s, paths would seemingly disappear into the side of a cliff. This led the photo reconnaissance team to assume they were building underground passage ways. Our spies in France found out who the engineers were that were designing and building these passageways between bunkers. Peter and a few others would boat over to Le Havre every Saturday from Dover and pick up these French engineers and bring them back to a small shack on an English beach, where by flashlight they would scratch in on their maps all the fortifications they had built and planned to build. Before morning, they would boat these men back to their vacant dingy that was tied on to their fish traps offshore Le Havre. The men would then fish their traps and return to shore with a perfect cover-up story. W

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