Private John Marvin Steele (November 29, 1912 – May 16, 1969) was the American paratrooper who landed on the pinnacle of the church tower in Sainte-Mère-Église
On the night before D-Day, two planeloads of paratroopers from the 1st and 2nd battalions 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment were dropped in error directly over the village.
The paratroopers were easy targets, and Steele was one of the few not killed. He was wounded in the foot by a burst of flak. His parachute caught in one of the pinnacles of the church tower, leaving him hanging on the side of the church. Steele hung there limply for two hours, pretending to be dead,
Meanwhile a small plane went down off San Juan County, WA. The pilot and sole occupant was a very special flyer …