
John Primerano was a boy of 16 years
when he was told (in a cinema)that America was attacked by Japan at
Pearl
From that moment on he wanted to
serve in the army, but had to wait until he had reached the statutory
age.
On 06 july
1943 he enlisted and began his training as a parachutist.
John was
assigned to the communications section,where
John ended up in a special unit whose
task it was to made the aerial photographs and information that came
from
John had his hand in the
modelling of these tables that many life saved in
Normandy, since they were well prepared and had good insight into the
area where they fought.
John had access to places where even senior
officers such as colonels and generals were not allowed to come. For
these young men was it something
special that they knew more than their own
commanders. John was still just private.
On the night of 5 to June 6, 1944
John could not go to
John began to actively fight on 17
September 1944. The men were divided among the HQ of regular
battalions, because many in the Normandy campaign HQ staff were killed
at crasches.
John was transferred to
the 1st Battalion of Lt Col Kinnard, who had their landing near Veghel.
Since the pathfinders, which would mark the drop zone, were shot down
over Belgium , became the serial of course, and the men were dropped near
the Castle van Kameren (Heeswijk).
It was John's 13th jump
and also his worst ever. John landed on his tailbone and lost
consciousness. His parachute was right on top of him, so none
of the men around him noticed him.
After a while, John came in and saw
that everyone was already gone. When he arrived at a farm he was
received by the residents and put on a chair so he could
recover. He was given milk which he felt a little better
(twenty years ago, John found the farmer's wife, Tonia, and visited
her each year until her death. Tonia has become 100 years).
John has often fought behind the
enemy lines, because they were responsible for the communication
between the outposts and the various headquarters. He recalls that one
evening he was restoring a line along the railway route direction
Schijndel. On the other side of the track they enter an another
communication section, they were Germans. John and his mates turned and
walked quietly back towards Eerde, the germans did the same in the
direction of Schijndel. There was no shot fired. John is proud that he
has no need to kill.
The only victim that he has created is a cow. During one of
his nightly repairs he heard a noise on the other side of a hedge. He
threw a grenade and he got away . A day later it proved to be a cow
that had broken loose.
According to
John many front soldiers had little respect for the men of HQ. This
earned him respect when he climbed in open field into a pole to do a
cable repair. Everyone around him said he was suicidal. John remembers
the sound of the bullets that flew close to his head, but his job was
done in record time.
In
Bastogne John was responsible for the communication cables between HQ
and the various Battalions and Companies. He
was there every time like the cables were cut by sabotage or bombing. So
John has spent many hours in the Bois Jaques. His
switchboard, where he was responsible for, was in the seminary, behind
a wooden door on the south side, where now the roundabout of the Rue
Gustave Delperdange located. John was also witnessed the
explosion of the mine truck in the courtyard of the seminary, where his
best friend Walter Craley lost his life.

Pvt Walter Craley, 501st Demolitions
John had a special experience in the
After the 501
John visits
the Netherlands and Belgium every year. He has lost his heart in
Eerde and is a welcome guest at the memorial and brings every year a
visit to the students of class 8 of the Petrus and Paulus school which adopted the

HQ/501PIR preparing for their jump into Holland on September 17th 1944.

The wire section of HQ/501.this photo was taken on a farm at the Bergweg in Eerde.

