'Jumpin' Joe' Beyrle: The American Paratrooper Who Fought for Two Armies

Joseph R.

约瑟夫·R。

Beyrle's experience captures the initiative demanded of airborne soldiers, the brutality endured by prisoners of war, and the unlikely battlefield cooperation between American and Soviet soldiers during the final months of the war.

拜尔的经历体现了空降兵所需要的主动性、战俘所遭受的残酷以及战争最后几个月美国和苏联士兵之间不太可能的战场合作。

Most Americans who know the story of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment immediately think of Band of Brothers .

大多数了解第 506 伞兵步兵团故事的美国人都会立即想到《兄弟连》。

The men of Easy Company have become synonymous with the American airborne experience during World War II, and deservedly so.

Easy连的战士们已经成为二战期间美国空降兵经历的代名词，这是当之无愧的。

Yet the 506th included thousands of paratroopers whose stories never reached the same audience.

然而，第 506 营中有数千名伞兵，他们的故事从未传达给同样的观众。

Among those largely forgotten heroes was Staff Sergeant Joseph R.

在这些被遗忘的英雄中，上士约瑟夫·R·

Beyrle, whose wartime experience was arguably more extraordinary than fiction.

贝尔勒的战时经历可以说比小说更非凡。

Beyrle is the only known American soldier to fight in combat with both the US Army and the Soviet Red Army.

贝尔勒是已知的唯一一位同时与美国陆军和苏联红军作战的美国士兵。

That distinction makes for a compelling headline, but it is not what makes his story important.

这种区别成为了一个引人注目的标题，但这并不是让他的故事变得重要的原因。

His experience captures the initiative demanded of airborne soldiers, the brutality endured by prisoners of war, and the unlikely battlefield cooperation between American and Soviet soldiers during the final months of the war.

他的经历体现了空降兵所需要的主动性、战俘所遭受的残酷以及战争最后几个月美国和苏联士兵之间不太可能的战场合作。

Beyrle was born in Muskegon, Michigan, on August 25, 1923, to William and Elizabeth Beyrle, whose parents had emigrated from Germany during the 19th century.

贝尔勒于 1923 年 8 月 25 日出生于密歇根州马斯基根，父母为威廉·贝尔勒 (William Beyrle) 和伊丽莎白·贝尔勒 (Elizabeth Beyrle)，父母于 19 世纪从德国移民。

The Great Depression shaped his childhood.

大萧条塑造了他的童年。

When his father lost his factory job, the family lost its home and moved in with relatives.

当他的父亲失去了工厂的工作后，全家失去了家园，搬到了亲戚家。

Beyrle later recalled standing in government food lines with his father, while two older brothers left school to join the Civilian Conservation Corps so they could help support the family.

贝尔后来回忆说，他和父亲一起站在政府领取食物的队伍中，而两个哥哥则离开学校加入了平民保护队，这样他们就可以帮助养家糊口。

Despite those hardships, Beyrle excelled in athletics and received a scholarship offer from the University of Notre Dame.

尽管困难重重，贝尔勒在运动方面表现出色，并获得了圣母大学的奖学金。

Like many young Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor , however, he set aside his personal ambitions and enlisted in the Army in 1942.

然而，与珍珠港袭击后许多美国年轻人一样，他抛开了个人野心，于 1942 年入伍。

Beyrle volunteered for the airborne, one of the Army's newest and most demanding organizations.

拜尔自愿加入空降兵，这是陆军最新、要求最高的组织之一。

He completed training at Camp Toccoa and Fort Benning as a member of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division.

他作为第 101 空降师第 506 伞兵团成员在托科阿营和本宁堡完成了训练。

The Army trained him as both a radio operator and demolition specialist, a combination of skills that made him particularly valuable during special operations.

陆军将他训练为无线电操作员和爆破专家，这些技能的结合使他在特种作战中特别有价值。

His fellow soldiers also gave him the nickname "Jumpin' Joe," a moniker that followed him throughout his life.

他的战友还给他起了个绰号“跳跃乔”，这个绰号伴随了他一生。

Stationed in England before the invasion of France, Beyrle completed two covert missions into occupied France during the spring of 1944, delivering gold and other supplies to the French Resistance.

1944 年春天，贝尔勒在入侵法国之前驻扎在英国，完成了两次进入被占领法国的秘密任务，为法国抵抗运动运送黄金和其他物资。

These dangerous operations offered a preview of the independent action and improvisation that would characterize the rest of his wartime service.

这些危险的行动为他提供了独立行动和即兴发挥的预演，这将成为他战时服役的其他特征。

Beyrle jumped into Normandy during the early hours of June 6, 1944, as part of Mission Albany, the airborne assault that preceded the amphibious landings.

1944 年 6 月 6 日凌晨，贝尔勒作为奥尔巴尼任务（两栖登陆前的空降攻击）的一部分，跳入诺曼底。

German antiaircraft fire struck his C-47 transport before it reached the drop zone, forcing him to jump from only about 360 feet.

在他的 C-47 运输机到达降落区之前，德国防空炮火击中了他，迫使他从大约 360 英尺的高度跳下。

Like thousands of other American paratroopers that morning, he landed far from his intended objective.

那天早上，和其他数千名美国伞兵一样，他的着陆距离预定目标很远。

The scattered drops immediately created serious problems, but they also forced German commanders to contend with American paratroopers appearing in unexpected places.

分散的空投立即造成了严重的问题，但也迫使德国指挥官必须与出现在意想不到的地方的美国伞兵进行对抗。

Isolated groups attacked bridges, destroyed communications, and spread uncertainty across the Cotentin Peninsula.

孤立的团体袭击了桥梁，破坏了通讯，并在整个科唐坦半岛散布了不确定性。

Beyrle fit that pattern: After landing on the grounds of the church in Saint-Côme-du-Mont, he destroyed a power station and participated in additional sabotage missions before German troops captured him several days later.

贝尔勒符合这种模式：在圣科姆迪蒙教堂降落后，他摧毁了一座发电站并参与了更多的破坏任务，几天后德国军队将他抓获。

ID photo of Joseph Beyrle taken at Stalag XII-A POW Camp.

约瑟夫·拜尔 (Joseph Beyrle) 在 Stalag XII-A 战俘营拍摄的身份证照片。

Wikimedia Commons.

维基共享资源。

Captivity proved every bit as dangerous as combat.

事实证明，囚禁与战斗一样危险。

Over the next seven months, German authorities transferred Beyrle through seven different prisons and prisoner-of-war camps.

在接下来的七个月里，德国当局将贝尔勒转移到七个不同的监狱和战俘营。

He escaped twice, and German guards recaptured him both times.

他两次逃脱，两次都被德国警卫抓获。

During one failed escape, he and several other prisoners mistakenly boarded a train headed toward Berlin rather than east toward advancing Soviet forces.

在一次失败的越狱中，他和其他几名囚犯错误地登上了一列开往柏林的火车，而不是向东驶向前进的苏联军队。

A German civilian reported them to the Gestapo, who beat and tortured the escapees while accusing Beyrle of being an American spy.

一名德国平民向盖世太保举报了他们，盖世太保对逃亡者进行殴打和酷刑，同时指控拜尔是美国间谍。

According to later accounts, Gestapo officials intended to execute the prisoners before officers from the regular German military intervened, arguing that prisoners of war fell under military rather than Gestapo jurisdiction.

据后来的报道，盖世太保官员打算在德国正规军军官介入之前处决这些囚犯，他们认为战俘属于军方管辖，而不是盖世太保管辖。

Beyrle also endured forced marches, overcrowded rail transport in boxcars packed with dozens of prisoners, and repeated physical abuse.

贝尔勒还遭受了强迫行军、挤满数十名囚犯的棚车铁路运输以及多次的身体虐待。

Yet he continued to attempt escape.

但他仍继续试图逃跑。

In January 1945, Beyrle finally succeeded.

1945年1月，拜尔终于成功了。

Escaping from Stalag III-C near Alt Drewitz, he headed east toward the sound of Soviet artillery.

他从阿尔特德鲁维茨附近的 Stalag III-C 逃离，向东朝苏联炮火的方向前进。

When he encountered a Soviet tank unit, he approached cautiously with his hands raised, holding a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes while shouting, "Amerikansky tovarishch!" or "American comrade!" His unusual introduction worked.

当他遇到苏联坦克部队时，他小心翼翼地靠近，举起双手，手里拿着一包好彩香烟，同时喊道：“美国胜利！”或“美国同志！”他不同寻常的介绍奏效了。

After convincing Guards Captain Aleksandra Samusenko of his identity, Beyrle received permission to accompany the Soviet formation rather than await transportation to Allied lines.

在使近卫军上尉亚历山大·萨穆森科确信自己的身份后，拜尔获准陪同苏联编队，而不是等待运送到盟军战线。

His demolition expertise quickly proved useful, and he spent roughly a month fighting alongside a battalion of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade during its advance toward Berlin.

他的爆破专业知识很快被证明是有用的，他花了大约一个月的时间与第一近卫坦克旅的一个营一起向柏林挺进。

It remains one of the most remarkable examples of battlefield cooperation between American and Soviet soldiers during the war.

它仍然是战争期间美国和苏联士兵之间战场合作最引人注目的例子之一。

Beyrle's service with the Red Army ended in early February 1945 when German dive bombers attacked the Soviet column and wounded him in the leg.

贝尔勒在红军的服役于 1945 年 2 月上旬结束，当时德国俯冲轰炸机袭击了苏联纵队并炸伤了他的腿部。

Soviet doctors evacuated him to a military hospital, where his story eventually reached Marshal Georgy Zhukov.

苏联医生将他送往一家军队医院，他的故事最终传到了格奥尔吉·朱可夫元帅那里。

Intrigued by the American in the hospital, Zhukov met with Beyrle through an interpreter and arranged for papers allowing him to rejoin American forces.

朱可夫对医院里的美国人很感兴趣，他通过翻译会见了贝尔勒，并安排了允许他重新加入美军的文件。

When Beyrle reached the US Embassy in Moscow, he encountered an unexpected problem.

当拜尔到达美国驻莫斯科大使馆时，他遇到了一个意想不到的问题。

The War Department had officially listed him as killed in action on June 10, 1944, after American forces recovered his identification tags from the body of a dead German soldier.

1944 年 6 月 10 日，美国军队从一名死去的德国士兵身上找到了他的识别标签后，陆军部正式将他列为阵亡者。

His hometown newspaper had published an obituary, and a funeral Mass had already been celebrated in his memory.

他家乡的报纸刊登了讣告，并为他举行了葬礼弥撒。

Embassy officials initially questioned his identity and placed him under Marine guard until fingerprint records confirmed that the supposedly dead paratrooper standing before them was, in fact, Joseph Beyrle.

大使馆官员最初质疑他的身份，并将他置于海军陆战队看守之下，直到指纹记录证实站在他们面前的所谓死亡伞兵实际上是约瑟夫·贝尔勒。

Scan of original War Department telegram received by Joe Beyrle's parents in Sept.

乔·拜尔 (Joe Beyrle) 的父母于 9 月收到的陆军部电报原件扫描件

1944, informing them (erroneously) that he was killed in action.

1944年，（错误地）通知他们他在行动中阵亡。

Wikimedia Commons

维基共享资源

Beyrle returned to the United States in April 1945, only weeks before Germany surrendered.

1945 年 4 月，就在德国投降前几周，贝尔勒回到美国。

The following year, he married JoAnne Hollowell in the same church and before the same priest who had presided over his funeral Mass while he was still overseas.

第二年，他在同一座教堂与乔安妮·霍洛韦尔结婚，并在同一位牧师面前结婚，这位牧师在他还在海外时主持了他的葬礼弥撒。

He worked for the Brunswick Corporation for nearly three decades before retiring, but his extraordinary wartime service gradually attracted wider recognition.

退休前，他在不伦瑞克公司工作了近三十年，但他非凡的战时服务逐渐赢得了更广泛的认可。

In 1994, Presidents Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin jointly honored him during ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of D-Day, a fitting tribute for a soldier whose wartime experience had linked American and Soviet forces in the fight against Germany.

1994 年，比尔·克林顿总统和鲍里斯·叶利钦总统在纪念诺曼底登陆 50 周年的仪式上共同向他致敬，这是对这位在战争中将美国和苏联军队联手对抗德国的士兵的致敬。

France and the Soviet Union also recognized his service, including the French Croix de Guerre and the Soviet Order of the Red Banner.

法国和苏联也承认了他的功绩，包括法国十字勋章和苏联红旗勋章。

Newspaper clipping showing Joseph R.

剪报显示约瑟夫·R.

Beyrle reuniting with his family.

拜尔与家人团聚。

Muskegon Chronicle, Saturday, April 21, 1945.

《马斯基根纪事报》，1945 年 4 月 21 日星期六。

Source: Newspapers.com

资料来源：Newspapers.com

Beyrle died in December 2004 while visiting Toccoa, Georgia, where he had trained as a young paratrooper more than 60 years earlier.

2004 年 12 月，拜尔在访问佐治亚州托科阿时去世，60 多年前他曾在那里接受过年轻伞兵训练。

He was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

他以完全军事荣誉被安葬在阿灵顿国家公墓。

In 2024, a street was named after him in Saint-Côme-du-Mont near the church where he landed on D-Day.

2024 年，他在诺曼底登陆时登陆的教堂附近的圣科姆迪蒙有一条街道以他的名字命名。

While Easy Company has introduced millions of people to the history of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Joseph Beyrle reminds us that many of the regiment's most extraordinary stories still lie beyond the familiar narrative.

虽然 Easy Company 已向数百万人介绍了第 506 伞兵步兵团的历史，但 Joseph Beyrle 提醒我们，该团的许多最非凡的故事仍然超出了人们熟悉的叙述范围。

His journey from American paratrooper, to German prisoner of war, to Red Army soldier stands as one of the most remarkable individual experiences of World War II.

他从美国伞兵到德国战俘，再到红军士兵的旅程是第二次世界大战中最非凡的个人经历之一。

Joseph Beyrle gravesite, Arlington Cemetery.

约瑟夫·贝尔勒墓地，阿灵顿公墓。

Photo: John Beyrle Wikimedia Commons

照片：John Beyrle 维基共享资源

Adam Coste is the World War II Historian for Digital Content at The National WWII Museum's Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy.

亚当·科斯特 (Adam Coste) 是国家二战博物馆珍妮·克雷格战争与民主研究所数字内容的二战历史学家。

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League served as inspiration for young women across the country and opened the door further for women’s professional sports.

全美女子职业棒球联盟为全国年轻女性提供了灵感，并进一步为女子职业运动打开了大门。

In the letter, Major Richard “Dick” Winters responded to Stephen Ambrose's request for his thoughts on the strain of command, the problems he faced during the war, and the living conditions his soldiers endured.

在信中，理查德·“迪克”·温特斯少校回应了斯蒂芬·安布罗斯关于他对指挥压力、他在战争期间面临的问题以及他的士兵所忍受的生活条件的看法的请求。

What emerged was also a concise explanation of Winters’s leadership philosophy.

随之而来的是对温特斯领导哲学的简洁解释。

At The National WWII Museum, remembering the anniversary of September 11 means remembering all those who perished that day and recognizing the many different stories they carried with them.

在国家二战博物馆，纪念 9 月 11 日的周年纪念意味着纪念那天所有遇难的人，并认识到他们所承载的许多不同的故事。

At The National WWII Museum, visitors can discover artifacts carried, worn, and used by paratroopers of the 101st Airborne alongside items that tell the story of Band of Brothers itself.

在国家二战博物馆，游客可以发现第 101 空降师伞兵携带、佩戴和使用的文物，以及讲述兄弟连本身故事的物品。

When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Boris Vetman and his older brother Samuel volunteered to fight to defend their homeland with the Red Army.

当纳粹德国入侵苏联时，鲍里斯·维特曼和他的哥哥塞缪尔自愿加入红军保卫家园。

During World War II, ship names often referenced earlier eras of American history.

第二次世界大战期间，舰艇名称经常引用美国历史的早期时期。

Today, the US Navy continues its efforts to memorialize the country’s origins by upholding naming traditions that hark back more than 160 years.

如今，美国海军继续努力维护 160 多年前的命名传统，以纪念国家的起源。

Initially, hell ships moved Allied POWs to areas where their labor was needed, such as the Japanese main islands and other recently conquered regions, but later, they also moved prisoners to prevent them from being liberated by advancing Allied forces.

最初，地狱船将盟军战俘转移到需要他们劳动力的地区，例如日本主岛和其他最近征服的地区，但后来，它们也转移囚犯，以防止他们被前进的盟军解放。

945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 info@nationalww2museum.org 504-528-1944

945 Magazine Street, 新奥尔良, LA 70130 info@nationalww2museum.org 504-528-1944