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A veteran interview with

Don McArthur

Don McArthur was one of the 9th Airborne Para’s who dropped into Normandy to take the Merville Battery out of action on D-Day. But things didn’t go according to plan.

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About Don McArthur

Don McArthur recounts how his D Day parachute drop went awry, trapping him behind enemy lines with no supplies and causing him to spend ten months as a prisoner of war. During D Day Don had suspected that his given orders were flawed but the extreme camaraderie he had experienced in the Parachute Regiment prevented him from trusting his doubt and confusion.  

Tasked with delivering mortars to a rendezvous point, Don and his platoon were dropped into Normandy on a dark, rainy night with no way to distinguish where to land or where to move towards. Despite the conditions he was able to locate three more of the lost Paras but no maps had been given out so following the noise of explosions was now their only option. After ten days of wandering the empty countryside with no supplies and no enemy or ally contact they were discovered by German soldiers and Don was captured.  

Don found the prison camp’s staff strict and quick to anger but he couldn’t blame them for just doing their job and didn’t resist their interrogations due to how worn out he was. After having been released one month after World War 2 ended, the Parachute Regiment asked him to return to their ranks but Don instead chose to go live with his wife and infant child.        

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
Reviewed by:
Leon Graham

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Home | Veterans | Don McArthur

A veteran interview with

Don McArthur

Don-McArther-Thumbnail

Don McArthur was one of the 9th Airborne Para’s who dropped into Normandy to take the Merville Battery out of action on D-Day. But things didn’t go according to plan.

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
McArthur, Don. A Veteran Interview with Don McArthur. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, 22 Sep. 2011 https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/don-mcarthur/. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
APA Style:
McArthur, D. (2011, September 22). A Veteran Interview with Don McArthur [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved May 25, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/don-mcarthur/
Chicago Style:
McArthur, Don. 2011. A Veteran Interview with Don McArthur. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, September 22. Accessed May 25, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/don-mcarthur/
Harvard Style:
McArthur, D. (2011). A Veteran Interview with Don McArthur. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee, 22 September. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/don-mcarthur/ (Accessed: 25 May 2025)
Vancouver Style:
McArthur, D. A Veteran Interview with Don McArthur [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; 2011 Sep 22 [cited 2025 May 25]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/don-mcarthur/
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Photo Gallery icon 17 Photos
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