D-Day led to the Allied victory in WWII in Europe. 2,876,000 Allied troops were then amassed in southern England. The largest armada in history, made up of more than 4,000 American, British, and Canadian ships, lay in wait. More than 13,000 planes stood ready to deliver 23,000 seasoned airborne troops behind enemy lines and dominate the skies.

Over 1,000 gliders of mostly wood and canvas with only metal frames departed for Normandy with thousands of the airborne troops. Like the varied outcomes for troops coming by sea or parachute, gliders had a mixture of both high casualties and successful attacks on D-Day. Gliders were then prominent in several major battles over the next months, including Operation Market Garden.

This presentation gives an overview of the role of gliders in WWII and shares the story and pictures of Flight Officer Theodore B. Ripsom from D-Day and other battles. David also recounts his own visits, with pictures, to the very same locations where his father and other glider pilots landed and fought.

David is a graduate of Lafayette College and University of Virginia School of Law.  After 20 years of private practice in Wilmington, he became General Counsel and then became President & CEO of Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited in Wilmington.  He remains active in the community, just completing a two year term as President of the Catholic Charities Appeal for Philadelphia.