Army·Technology obsolescence·In Memoriam
320th Barrage Balloon Battalion
VLA Battalion
Served: 1942–1945
The only African-American combat unit ashore at Normandy on D-Day. A 621-man assault force flew hydrogen-filled barrage balloons over Omaha and Utah beaches to force Luftwaffe strafing runs higher, where AAA could kill them. Confirmed a Ju-88 kill over Omaha.
The Story
Medic Cpl. Waverly B. Woodson Jr. landed on Omaha at ~9:00 a.m. June 6, was wounded twice, and treated 200+ men over 30 hours straight before collapsing. He was nominated for the Medal of Honor in 1944 — the paperwork vanished. He finally received the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously in 2024, eighty years late.
Epitaph
“Only all-Black combat unit ashore on D-Day. Eighty years to award the medal.”
Sources
- Wikipedia — 320th Barrage Balloonen.wikipedia.org
- Army.mil — All-Black Balloon Unitwww.army.mil
- Smithsonian Air & Spaceairandspace.si.edu