US Army in Northern Ireland, 1941-1945

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-27460789

Eisenhower to be remembered in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh


General Eisenhower inspecting the soldiers stationed in County Fermanagh


A series of events are due to be held in County Fermanagh to mark General Dwight Eisenhower's visit 70 years ago.

Eisenhower, who was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during WW2, went to Enniskillen on 18 May 1944.

He inspected the 2,000 soldiers based in County Fermanagh prior to the D-Day invasion.

On Monday, the playing fields at Portora Royal School will be renamed the Eisenhower playing fields.

There will also be a tree-planting ceremony and a commemorative plinth to mark Eisenhower's historic visit to Celtic Park in the town.

Later, the US Consul will attend an event for 130 schoolchildren outlining what it was like to live in Fermanagh during WW2, the background to US forces stationed in Fermanagh and the significance of General Eisenhower's visit.


Soldiers paraded in front of General Eisenhower


Among a number of events, children will see previously unscreened film footage of General Eisenhower's visit to Enniskillen.

Eisenhower led the massive invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe that began on D-Day, 6 June 1944.

More than 80,000 British and Canadian troops took part in the invasion and about 3,000 Allied troops lost their lives.

Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zyrmfrd#zxx2hv4

The GIs in NI: Was it all stockings, sweets and sex?

1. Bumpy landing

The first American soldiers strode down gangways onto docks at Londonderry and Belfast on 26 January 1942. It was barely seven weeks since these young men had watched newsreels of Pearl Harbor in flames. Congress declared war on Japan, Germany and Italy and suddenly here they were in a freezing cold corner of Europe the size of Connecticut, the first US troops to enter the UK in wartime.

Northern Ireland was their stepping stone to combat. It must have also seemed a very strange place. Most people welcomed the GIs with open arms, but it wasn't all plain sailing. The beer was flat, the customs confusing and some of the locals wanted to kill them. By December 1943 the country was jam-packed with 120,000 Americans – around a tenth of the population. No wonder they caused a stir...

 

Cheers, and from that, this link
"US Forces in Northern Ireland during WW2"
https://www.flickr.com/photos/111021196@N07/

 

Illustrated London News 06 February 1943

 

Illustrated London News 07 February 1942

 

American troops, murders and a race riot

"What's the connection between a racial clash in Antrim and the murder of a Belfast pimp?

Both incidents happened during World War Two and both involved American soldiers based in Northern Ireland.

At one stage during the war, US military personnel made up about one tenth of Northern Ireland's population.

An estimated 300,000 Americans were based in Northern Ireland or passed through between the beginning of 1942 and the end of the war.

Nearly 2,000 Northern Ireland women became GI brides, starting a new life in the United States after the war.

US personnel were based all over the country as they prepared to fight in North Africa and later the invasion of Normandy on D-Day.

As well as training for upcoming military campaigns that would help the Allies win the war, they staged American football and baseball games in Belfast.

The proceeds went towards local hospitals, set up a fund for orphans of the Belfast Blitz and made toys for kids in the children's ward of the Royal Victoria Hospital at Christmas 1942 and 1943.

While their interactions with the population were overwhelmingly positive, there was a darker side to their presence.

It's a story that's been researched by Alan Freeburn, learning and collections officer of the Northern Ireland War Memorial.

He says the boredom facing some of the troops led to many cases of drunk and disorderly behaviour, striking officers, soldiers going AWOL and theft.

However, there were also a small number of much more serious cases, two of which resulted in American soldiers being executed for murders carried out in Northern Ireland.

... [continues, see link]"

 

US soldiers' Portrush Christmas treat

Many of us share childhood memories of Christmases spent at home with family playing with brand new toys.

Christmas Day in 1943 was a very different one in Portrush when American soldiers, stationed in the town, took all of the children out for the day.

About 300,000 US troops were stationed in Northern Ireland as they prepared to fight in World War Two.

Luxuries were hard to come by, but that didn't stop the Portrush soldiers from putting on a party for every child.

The gesture - by the men of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 82nd Airborne Division - was part of an effort to build good relations with the people of the town....