Medaille Kelly stumpus ( overleed 6.2.2016)
1ste luitenant 907glider field artillery

1Lt. Achilles Kelly Stumpus passed on 6 Feb 2016, aged 96. He attended OCS at Ft. Sill and was Jumper Qualified at Ft. Benning. He jumped into Holland on 17 Sep 44 as an advance man to help determine 907th GFAB route and marshalling areas. He was an artillery liaison officer at Bastogne. After WW2, he was in the Reserves, and was recalled during the Korean Conflict attaining Captain rank. He participated in the 50th commerative jump in June 1994 at Normandy. Kelly Stumpus was the last living officer of the 907th Glider Field Artillery Battalion.

In January 1942 the 307th Ammunition Train was redesignated the 907th Glider Field Artillery Battalion then reactivated 2 months later on 25 March, 1942 at Camp Clairborne, Louisiana under the command of Lt Col Clarence F. Nelson who would lead the battalion until it's deactivation after World War II.

After intensive training at Camp Claiborne, LA the 907th Glider Field Artillery Battalion (GFAB), now an element of the 101st Airborne Division, began moving to staging areas on 22 August 1943 at Camp Shanks, New York with the rest of the division for overseas deployment.

On 4 Sept the 907th GFAB set sail for England aboard the SS Strathnaver and arrived at Liverpool, England on 18 Oct. After moving inland the 907th eventually set up encampment at Benham Valence near Newbury and adopted the unit code name of Kilogram. The battalion participated in Exercise Tiger which was staged during the week of April 23-30, 1944 as a rehearsal of the opening phase of the Utah Beach landings under VII Corps auspices.
Normandy - D-Day..
The 907th Glider Field Artillery Battalion with a group of the 321st GFAB were aboard the Susan B Anthony which struck a mine and sank off Omaha Beach. The artillery troopers managed to get ashore without loss of life however, they had to wait until June 9th for the guns and vehicles to be off-loaded. A small echelon of the 907th GFAB consisting of an officer and 3 enlisted men did parachute onto the DZ on D-Day however, the main body of the battalion arrived seaborne.

By 10 June 1944, the 907th was firing in support of a coordinated offensive action undertaken by the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR)
in the general vicinity of Carentan.

The 907th continued offensive operations supporting the 502nd & 501st PIRs throughout this early campaign. On 26 June the battalion took up tactical bivouac positions west of St Sauveur-le-Vicomte along with the 501st PIR and eventually moved to Tollevast south of Cherbourg with the rest of the 101st where they patrolled the area. It was relieved from action on 10 July 1944 and sailed for the base camp in England aboard an LST on 13 July 1944.

C'est en janvier 1942 que le 307th Ammunition train, unité qui s'était distinguée en Lorraine en 1917 sous les couleurs de la 82nd Division, fut redésigné 907th Glider Field Artillery Battalion et réactivé le 25 mars 1942 à Claibourne, sous le commandement du Lt Col Clarence F Nelson, qui devait conserver la tête de son bataillon jusqu'à la fin des hostilités. Le 907th était constitué des HQ, A et B Batteries.

Intégré à la 101st Airborne, le 907th GFAB a poursuivi sa formation à Claibourne avant de rejoindre Camp Shanks NY le 22 aout 43, prélude à l'embarquement le 4 septembre avec le reste de la division (502 PIR, 377th PFAB, Engineers, quartermaster, Signal et Ordnance Cy..) à bord du SS Strathnaver. Arrivée à Liverpool le 18 octobre (le strathnaver est tombé en rideau à Terre Neuve et les troopers ont terminé le voyage à bord du SS Ericson, et installation à Benham Valence Park près de Newbury.

Normandie
Bien que le M3 105 mm Howitzer ne fut autorisé pour les Airborne qu'à partir de décembre 1944, le 907th en a été équipé dès la Normandie, ce qui en fait sa grande spécificité, à l'instar du 320th GFAB à la 82nd Airborne qui reçoit ses HM-3 avant la Sicile.

Le 907th GFAB, par manque de moyen aériens, a rejoint la Normandie par bateau, en compagnie du 321st GFAB et à bord su SS Susan B Anthony. Le bateau heurta une mine et coula à 7,5 miles au large de Port en Bessin, heureusement sans déplorer de pertes. Ce n'est que le 9 juin que le 907th a pu commncer à faire mouvement avec son matériel. A noter qu'un officier et 3 EM ont sauté le D Day. Pour sa première mission, le 907 a soutenu l'attaque du 502 sur St Côme le 10 juin. Il devait poursuivre jusqu'au 26 juin ses misions de support au 502 mais aussi au 501. Retour en Angleterre le 13 juillet. Pertes : 16 hommes (3 KIA)

L'artillerie aéroportée de la 101st Airborne, Brig General Anthony Mc Auliffe commanding, était constituée de :

321st Glider FA Battalion (75mm)
907th Glider FA Battalion (105mm)
377th Parachute FA Battalion (75mm)
Le 463rd Parachute FA Battalion (75mm) destinée à la 17th Airborne, s'est "auto rattaché" à la 101st le 17 décembre à Mourmelon dès l'annonce de l'attaque allemande dans les Ardennes....