JOHN STEELE (1912–1969) American paratrooper who landed on the pinnacle of the church tower in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, the first village to be liberated by the United States Army during Operation Overlord on June 6, 1944. Steele hung there limply for two hours, pretending to be dead, before the Germans took him prisoner. He escaped four hours later from the Germans and rejoined his division when US troops of the 505th's 3rd Battalion attacked the village. Bold signature in the return address of an envelope in Steele's hand sent to a man in Belgium, 1966. Fine. With a color photo print of a mannequin representing Steele which still hangs from the church today.