In August 1944, he landed with allied forces on the beaches around Saint-Tropez, France, as part of Operation Dragoon which launched a 25-mile front onto the German invasion forces in Provence.
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On 20 July the air echelons of the 87th, 88th and 89th Troop Carrier Squadrons departed for Canino airbase in Italy in preparation for the August invasion of Southern France, Operation Dragoon.
The detachment dropped paratroops of the 517th Parachute Infantry Regiment along the Riviera in support of the invasion of Southern France on 15 August, and later towed gliders to provide reinforcements; for these missions the group earned another citation from the French government.
The history of the 8th includes airborne assaults on Sicily and Southern France, support of partisans in Northern Italy and the Balkans, and transportation of personnel and supplies in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, during World War II.
After the armistice in June 1940 it flew to Berre, near Marseilles, where it was finally wrecked by the retreating Germans in August 1944.
As the breakout from Normandy took place, the Allies launched the invasion of southern France on 15 August 1944 with the American 6th Army Group (6 AG) under the command of Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers.