An old WW2 movie about D-day. Has John Wayne in it and many other good actors of the day. It seem pretty accurate but natually the fighting is a bit …well nothing like Saving Private Ryan.
Interesting scene shows the Brits droping dummy paratroopers. About the size of a midget. Never heard that one before. Anybody know anything about them or is it Hollywood??
Anyways if you have see the movie please vote.
This site should answer all your questions. It would appear that they came into use a lot earlier than was thought.
Two extracts to wet your appetite.
http://home.att.net/~1.elliott/paratrooperdummyhistorysite.html
This site will be updated shortly to reflect this new information. For now, a nutshell version of events: According to Freedman, the paradummy idea was conceived by the British in 1938.
Another problem with the paradummy portrayal in the film is the idea that these dummies were dropped into action all by themselves. In fact, six very brave British SAS troopers jumped along with the paradummies to help make noise on the ground. The SAS men played combat recordings, set off smoke and gunpowder odor effects, fired their own weapons, and harassed the Germans wherever possible in order to make the dummy drop deception more effective.
These few SAS men completed an extremely dangerous and vital mission all alone, well behind enemy lines, yet they were completely omitted from the paradummy scenes in the film! Also, two of the several planes used during the Titanic paradummy missions were lost to enemy fire and this was not in the film.
A poem to Rupert the dummy which describes his action very well.
Rupert
Rupert…did you see
the brave men of D-Day
as the fought their way ashore
and into history forever more?
Rupert…you had a grand view;
There were heroes in the air with you
and many more below on the ground
each trying to dodge a German round
Rupert…Did you see them fall
as they answered freedom’s call
You are silent...continuing to stare
Is that a tear in your eye seen there
Rupert…Rupert...?
© Faye Sizemore 6/6/04
D- Day Paradummy 'Rupert'
Para-dummies were dropped as decoys during military operations during WW II.
"Rupert" was one actually used by the British on D-Day.
Thank you 2nd of foot I found the poem strangly touching, although it may be due to the six pack of wife beater i’ve been working through
Good post 2nd of foot. Thats pretty interesting. Learn something new everyday. 
Good post, that poem is deep.
Come on chaps stiff upper lip, we’re not Americans (well some of us anyway) :lol:
The actor who played Maj Howard in the film also dropped with 6th airborne. A nice bit of continuity.
2nd of foot, The Pegasus bridge opperation was a Glider deployment so flew in rather than dropped would be a better reflection of the arrival of the Ox’s and Buck’s ahead of anyone else. I saw TV ad for a PC game that seemed to indicate that US Airbourne forces ( 101 or 82nd I can’t remember ) Were the first in, I wonder who will be quoting the game as fact in the near future?
Richard Todd, the actor in question, was the first man to jump, and therefore the first man on the ground after Major Howard’s glider troops and the Pathfinders.
He had been appointed assistant Adjutant to the splendidly named Lt.Col. Geoffrey Pine-Coffin, C.O. of the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion.
He seems to have been, like so many on that mission, a genuine hero, if a very modest one.
When he was making “The Longest Day”, Darryl Zanuck asked Todd to play himself, but he refused, believing that he would be made to look more heroic than he felt he had, in fact, been.
He subsequently played the part of Major Howard, with another actor playing himself when the two men met.
You can read his description of the jump and subsequent action here :
http://www.ornebridgehead.org/richard_todd.htm
One of his later roles was as Lachie McLachlan in “The Hasty Heart” starring opposite a future US President. 
He also starred as Guy Gibson in “the Dam Busters” and as Lt. Cmdr. Kerans, RN, in “The Yangtze Incident”.
A brief extract from the above link, not directly by Todd,
During the 6th June, Lieutenant-Colonel Pine-Coffin and Lieutenant Todd were in the vicinity of Le Port when they happened upon members of No.25 Platoon of the 2nd Oxford & Bucks Light Infantry, who at that moment had come under attack from a machine gun position. Private Denis Edwards explains: “The stream of bullets ripped through the tree, inches above our heads, showering us with twigs and leaves. At that moment the 7th Para Battalion’s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Pine-Coffin, accompanied by a young officer, appeared next to our tree, crouching to keep below the line of the machine-gun fire, and busily looked all around, taking in the picture. The two of them paused momentarily, glanced up at the splintered tree and the Colonel said to his companion, “That is not too healthy old boy. He’s firing just a shade too close for comfort. We had better deal with him, eh?” With Stens tucked under their arms, they wandered southwards in a leisurely manner and disappeared through a gap in a nearby hedge. A few moments later came the rat-a-tat tat of two Stens, followed by complete silence. Soon they reappeared with broad smiles upon their faces, looked towards us and the Colonel said, “Well lads, that’s fixed him up”… Years later I realized that the young Officer who had accompanied the Para Commander was Richard Todd…”
LargeBrew quite correct, but the actor who played Maj Howard dropped with 6 airborne. My use of “also dropped” was meant to mean that he was part of the 6 airborne operation, not that D coy Ox and Bucks used parachutes to take the bridge.
Richard Todd was the actor I was looking for. I remember seeing a clip of him talking about the role he played. As part of 6 Airborne he probably had more understanding of what Maj Howard achieved then most.
Pic from the film.
Oooh ! I love a quiz !
Can I make a guess ?
Cuts, you can have first bite and just to help a bit the cryptic clue is , he can be found “In roman”, good luck.
I just don’t have the metal to do cryptic clues, can I have a little help please. 
It can’t be as hard as that can it ?
While 2nd of Foot says he doesn’t have the mettle for cryptic clues, if you take the carbon copying out it should steel lead you to the answer…
LB - should I do as them ?
How about ,Crease removing tool , male of the species
Or how about toll,y Mc troll winner of last years Mr troll contest
If you know your periodic table…
Fe-Male.
Good movie, saw it recently, twice. Liked how they made everyone speak their native languages, gets some realism out of it.