Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-08-10
Maj. Danahy Certain
Nazis Have No Bullet
Marked for Him
BY WALTER McCALLUM,
Star war Correspondent.

WITH UNITED STATES IHOOPS
IN FRANCE (By maiD.-The fell
low is natural to catch German
bullet. Like all soldiers who tweak
German noses, Maj. Paul Danahy
doesn't believe the German bullet
or shell yet has been made with his
name on it.
when begin to think they may
get me I'll start to duck" he grins
all over that wide Irish face. "But
until then there's no Jerry bullet
going to get me-"
However he feels about 1t, no
guy in any army can 60 around
in a jeep in the middle OF a tank
charge, or bossing the artillery
standing in the middle of a she'll
swept road, or leading bayonet
charges with nothing more lethal
than a pistol, and keep out Of trou-
BILE. The odds simply shorten every
time he does it and sooner or later
Maj. Danahy is going to catch a
slug.
Fine Fighting Men.
He is staff officer of the 101st
Airborne Division, the outfit which
won the presidential unit citation
in France, was the first in Nor
mandy, and the same outfit which
a lot of hard-bitten soldiers say Is
just about as good a bunch of
fighting men as there is in any
army. Maj. Danahy won his spot
as staff offlcer in battle.
He is salesman by profession,
from Minneapolis, by way of Buff
falo. Maj. Danahy once did chore
of college boxing, but he stuck that
Irish chin out once or twice too
much, he says. Just as he is stick
ing it into German business now
and Is a cinch to get it knocked of
as the odds in his favor shorten.
Leading parachute stick around
1870 a. m. D-day, Maj Danahy
dropped by chute near a little
French town south of the Douve
River, near Carentan. He was sup
posed to drop north of the river,
consolidate and help in blowing up
couple Of bridges. But that only
spurred the Irishman on, the fact
that he hadn't hit his drop zone.
He grabbed all the parachutists he
could muster and started north,
heading for the concentration point.
En- route he had some experiences
that would curl your hair.
Grabs Bottle on Run.
1t isn't exactly au fait, for in
stance, for an Irishman, and a
thirsty one at that, to refuse a
drink no matter what the circum-
stances. And if the Germans were
shooting at Maj. Danahy and his
gang as the French woman held out
a bottle of cognac in a village
street, that made no difference. II
grabbed it on the run and took
big wallop," he said. Then we fiat
tened against the wall and took
care of those Heinies at the other
end of the street"
He got back to the division COM
mand post three days after the
drop, walked in and said, "Danahy
reporting. sir How about sending
me out to get a few Germans?"
Instead they sent him to bed, told
him to shave and take a bath and
get ready for trouble that night.
The trouble happened to be some
thing right down Maj. Danahys
alley. A parachute infantry regi-
ment was stuck on a causeway
leading to town, pinned down by
enemy fire. Maj. Danahy went
forward to reconnoiter, found the
opposition not too tough, stood in
the middle of the road waving the
artillery to lift its fire higher, and
said, Come on, men, let's get EN-"
The boys rose from their foxholes
and charged, wiping out a lot of
Germans and winning the position.
A few days later he came to my
foxhole and said, Come on, Walt,
let's have some fun"
I asked, what kind of fun?"
Invitation Declined.
"Oh. there's going to be a tank
fight" he said. I'VE ought to see it,"
asked what he was riding in, and
when he told me he was going in
jeep I declined. Later he came
back and admitted he was scared.
Glad you didn't come along"
he said. "You might have made me-