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One hand washes the other
(Wilson Colwell & Raymond Defer claimed to have been in Normandy but were not)
Here are the Records for both Colwell and Defer

Once again Facebook has shown that men who were praised for being in Normandy were not there.  Both Wilson Colwell & Raymond Defer have given their narratives to “Remember Those Who Served, The Greatest Generations Foundation" based in Colorado.  Colwell went one better and lied to Fox 31 back in 2014 as well.  Colwell was mentioned by name by President Obama in Normandy during the June 2014 event and shook the hand of President Obama.

Why does the Newspapers, TV and the people who work for the White House not do their due diligence and first verify before something like this ever occurs?

I spoke with Timothy Davis at The Greatest Generations Foundation and he has refused to believe that the two men weren’t in Normandy.  His first argument is “it's known that reporting in WWII wasn't as accurate”.  That is so far from the facts it is unbelievable.  WWII has the most documentation of any war in history.

Davis then says “We have all the military reports and papers here on each veteran”.  Once again, not true obviously.  I have attached the actual documentation showing that neither Colwell nor Defer were in Normandy in June, July or August of 1944. 

Davis via email said this;  "As TGGF is a public charity. You can search and find everything online. Not sure why you are going to Colorado, TGGF is headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA."  That is yet another fabrication of course as his "foundation" is based solely in Denver, CO.

They both came into the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment June 17, 1944.  They were replacements who did not go into Normandy.  They came in from the 19th Replacement Deport.  In late July 1944 Colwell became a replacement and was assigned to Co H and Defer as a replacement in the Medical Detachment.  In August of 1944 Defer was attached Co H as a Medic.

Here is the really strange and sad part as it pertains to Wilson Colwell.  According to Davis, Colwell’s recollection has him in Normandy and the Bulge but Colwell wasn’t there.  Colwell was in Market Garden and was severely wounded September 25, 1944 and spent 108 days in the Hospitals in Europe.  He rejoined Co H March 6, 1945 and served the rest of the war.

When I reached out to Timothy Davis about this he said that Colwell was never wounded which is beyond strange and that he had been in Normandy.  Both things were wrong.  The attached Morning Reports and General Orders show clearly Colwell and Defer weren’t in Normandy.      


Brian Siddall

June 14, 2016 

 

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