Bagpipes, a Limp, and a Ghost by Avi Heiligman

Forgotten Her es Bagpipes, a Limp, and a Ghost

Unusual Heroes Who Fought in World War II

By Avi Heiligman

Mad Jack Churchill with his famous bagpipe Virginia Hall, the Limping Lady Matthew Urban, receiving a Medal of Honor in 1979 from President Jimmy Carter

Militaries like to have all of their enlisted personnel and officers trained in a particular way as that would help them perform better when facing the enemy. However, there are some people who just don’t fit the bill of a typical soldier, yet they manage to be excellent on the battlefield or behind the lines. Some of these people become spies or join special units, while others make a name for themselves while under fire. During World War II, many of these characters helped the Allies defeat the Axis powers

Even though John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming Churchill wasn’t related to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the Germans thought he was and treated him roughly. Known as Mad Jack, he was a lieutenant colonel in the British Army during World War II and had a large personality along with his broadsword, longbow, and bagpipes that he brought into battle. Churchill was born in British Ceylon (today Sri Lanka) and graduated from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in 1926. After a stint in Burma, he left the army to become a newspaper editor in Kenya. Using his bagpipe skills, Churchill made small film appearances and competed in bagpipe and archery competitions.

As with many former soldiers, Churchill rejoined the army after Britain entered the war when Germany invaded Poland. He was sent to France as a part of the British Expeditionary Force with the Manchester Regiment. A story circulated around the ranks that Mad Jack killed a German with a longbow, but he refuted this claim by stating that all his longbows had been crushed. He used two machine guns to hold off the enemy and, despite being shot in the shoulder, managed to get the rest of his company to safety. After fighting at Dunkirk, Churchill went back in England and volunteered for the Commandos. On a raid on Vagsoy, Norway, in December 1941, he led his men into battle while playing the bagpipes and throwing a grenade at the enemy. A year-and-a-half later in Italy, Mad Jack was the commanding officer of No. 2 Commando and led his men during two landings with a longbow, arrows, broadsword, and bagpipes. Along with a corporal, he managed to capture 42 enemy soldiers including a mortar section.

He was with the Commandos in 1944 in Yugoslavia to support the Partisans and was knocked out by a grenade and captured by the Germans. The Nazis thought he was related to the prime minister and sent him to a concentration camp. Along with other prisoners, Churchill dug a tunnel and escaped – only to be recaptured by the Nazis. In April 1945, the POWs were released, and he walked 93 miles to Allied lines in Italy. He was then sent to Burma, but the fighting had ended. Churchill later quipped, “If it wasn’t for those Yanks, we could have kept the war going another 10 years!”

After the war, he was posted to British Mandate in what was then called Palestine, and just before Israeli Independence assisted in rescuing a Hadassah medical convoy that was attacked by the Arabs. Churchill coordinated the rescue of 700 Jewish doctors, patients, and other personnel at the hospital.

Mad Jack Churchill was a legendary soldier who received several awards and commendations for bravery in battle even though his methods may have not been the norm.

One of the OSS’s (the U.S. spy agency during the war) most valuable agents in France was a woman with one leg named Virginia Hall. She was born in Baltimore, knew four languages, and had traveled the world. Her left leg had to be amputated after a hunting accident in Turkey but that didn’t stop her from joining the British secret agency the SOE – Special Operations Executive. They sent her to France to coordinate an underground network to fight the Nazi occupiers. The Nazis soon put the “Limping Lady” on the Most Wanted list, but she escaped through Spain, where she was put in prison. The American consul stationed in the officially neutral country (Spain did not fight in the war but had sympathized with Germany) was able to secure her release after six weeks behind bars. In 1944, Hall formally joined the OSS and was sent back into France to reorganize her resistance network.

The work that Virginia Hall did while under the noses of the Nazis who relentlessly searched for her is incredible. One of the important aspects of a spy is to blend in with the locals and act like he or she belongs there. Hall disguised herself as a milkmaid and dyed her hair grey. Many agents that parachuted into France were guided in by Hall, and she helped supply airdrops for the resistance. Numerous reports on enemy troop movements and dispositions were relayed to London by her radio. She also trained three battalions of resistance fighters. In the weeks before and after D-Day, June 6, 1944, resistance fighters trained by Hall destroyed four bridges, and severed rail and communication lines, along with killing 150 German soldiers and capturing over 500 of them.

After the war, Hall was presented with the Distinguished Service Cross for her bravery behind enemy lines.

Buffalo native Matthew Urban was one of the most decorated soldiers during World War II. He was a lieutenant with 2nd Battalion, 60 Infantry Regiment, 9th Division and served in several campaigns starting with the North Africa invasion (Op-

eration Torch) in November 1942. Urban was ordered to remain on his ship and not enter the battle, but when he heard of his unit’s predicament on the beach, he found a way to join his men. Defying orders and under threat of court martial, Urban rowed himself to shore in a rubber raft and, upon reaching the beach, took the place of a wounded officer.

During the battle in Tunisia, Urban inspired his men in unusual ways throughout the battle. On a patrol, his unit was falling back when he ran into a German and killed him with a knife. Urban then took the Nazi’s pistol and started firing at the enemy. Urban also showed unparalleled leadership during the Sicily Campaign by leading his unit that spearheaded an Allied column that caught the Germans offguard.

The 9th Infantry Division was sent to England to refit and prepare for the invasion of France that took place in June 1944. After landing on Utah Beach, Urban’s company made their way through the hedgerows and came across German Panzers. He picked up a Bazooka anti-tank rifle from a fallen GI and proceeded to knock out the tanks and cleared the way for rest of

the company. Later in the day, he was wounded but refused evacuation and directed his unit while on a stretcher. The next day, he was wounded, sent back to England to recuperate, and instead of being sent back to the U.S. after he healed, made his way back to France so he could be with his men who had suffered many casualties in the hedgerow fighting. As he reached the 2nd Battalion in the middle of intense enemy fire, he organized the men to keep on moving

so they wouldn’t be sitting ducks. He noticed a burning American Sherman tank and rescued the driver before it exploded. As the unit advanced, Urban destroyed many machine guns and captured many more Germans in hand-to-hand fighting that included the use of his bayonet. The fighting continued from France into Belgium, where he was shot in the neck and was sent to a field hospital.

Urban managed to rejoin the 2nd Battalion again but was refused a field assignment based on his injuries.

Matt Urban was nicknamed “The Ghost” for returning to action so many times after being wounded. In 1980, he was awarded the Medal of Honor in addition to the many other medals and citations that he had received, including two Silver Stars and 7 Purple Hearts.

Many soldiers and spies during World War II fought the enemy with bravery. Even though their stories didn’t always make headlines, their heroism deserves to be remembered.

Known as Mad Jack, he was a lieutenant colonel in the British Army during World War II and had a large personality along with his broadsword, longbow, and bagpipes that he brought into battle.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

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