The Man Who Parachuted into France with my father

A couple of weeks ago I went to Florida to meet Dick Franklin, one of the two men who parachuted into France with my father in 1944.

He and I had knew of each other through a mutual friend, Colin Beavan who’d written a book about the Jedburghs, the clandestine operatives who parachuted into France to connect with the Maquis, the French Resistance.  My father and my uncle both “jumped” in the summer of 1944.  Dick Franklin was the radio operator for Team Alexander, the group of three which included my father, Stewart Alsop, and Rene de la Tousche,  a graduate of St. Cyr, the French military academy. I’ve written about this before and will again, I’m sure.

It was a thrill for me to be able to shake Dick’s hand, to know that he sat next to my father with their legs dangling in the air 2000 feet above occupied France, sixty-eight years ago. He told me stories I never would have known otherwise.  The book I’m writing about that time will be all the much richer for his insights, his memories and his willingness to share them with me.

I am grateful to have met him and delighted we found so much to talk about.   I think my father would be pleased.