US Army

Army Paratrooper

National Archives

Corporal Louis E. Laird, U.S. Army Paratrooper, boards a C-47 transport plane during dress rehersals for the Normandy invasion. Photographed at an English airfield, circa spring 1944. Note his "Bazooka" anti-tank rocket launcher, sheath knife on his left leg, camouflaged helmet, and 101st Airborne Division shoulder patch.