Robert Lee Wolverton


Lt. Col. Robert Lee "Bull" Wolverton was the commander of the American 3rd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, from 1942 until his death at Saint-Côme-du-Mont, Normandy, on D-Day, June 6, 1944, during World War II .
Part of the same regiment to which belonged the legendary "Band of Brothers," Wolverton's men fought in the epic Operation Overlord, Operation Market Garden and Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne.
Despite being killed before landing on French soil, Wolverton's legacy endured, particularly on the strength of a prayer spoken to the 750 men in his battalion hours before the D-Day parachute drop behind enemy lines.
Wolverton's words were cited by President Ronald Reagan in a 1984 speech from Normandy on the 40th anniversary of the invasion and recounted in numerous books and in Newsweek and Associated Press stories on a battalion reunion held in Kansas City on the first D-Day anniversary after the war.
Following is a recounting of the prayer:
The men were called together, and they stood in the orchard on either side of a low earthen mound which fenced the fields. Upon the earthen hedgerow stood Lt. Col. Robert L. Wolverton, commanding officer of 3rd battalion, 506th PIR. And the colonel said:
All were silent for two minutes as the men were left, each with his individual thoughts. Then the colonel ordered, "Move out."
A few hours later, Robert Wolverton was killed by German machine gun fire in an orchard outside Saint-Come-du-Mont, Normandy, France. According to Ed Shames, Wolverton sustained "162 bullet holes and bayonet wounds" due to German troops using him as target practice. Of the paratroopers in his plane, 5 were killed, 7 were captured and 3 successfully fought on.

Wolverton in Museums

Original World War II uniforms and memorabilia from Lt. Col. Wolverton are on display at these museums:
http://dday-experience.com / Battle of Normandy - Saint-Côme-du-Mont, France

Monument to Lt. Col. Robert Wolverton

At Saint-Come-du-Mont, Normandy, France