The drooping of parachutists troops on the back of the Atlantic Wall, at dawn of 6 June 1944, should make easy the landing of the Allied forces. The aircrafts carrying the men of the 82nd American Airborne division undergo a violent fire from the Flak, when approaching the western coast of Cotentin in the night of 6 June; some aircrafts are damaged and others slightly scattered. Around 1:00 a. m. the first parachutists drop on Sainte-Mère-Église creating a great confusion; the population shelter in the houses, the Germans shot several parachutists then they withdraw one kilometer south from the town. At 5:00 a. m. the Americans firmly hold Sainte-Mère-Église, pushing back several German conter-attacks.

On the night of the D-Day (June 5-6, 1944), American soldiers of the 82nd Airborne parachuted into the area west of Ste-Mère-Église in successive waves. The town had been the target of an aerial attack and a stray incendiary bomb had set fire to a house east of the town square. The church bell was rung to alert the town of the emergency and townspeople turned out in large numbers to form a bucket brigade supervised by members of the German garrison. By 0100hrs, the town square was well-lit and filled with German soldiers and villagers when two sticks from the 1st and 2nd battalions were dropped in error directly over the village.

The paratroopers were easy targets and Steele was one of only a few non-casualties. His parachute was caught in the steeple of the village church in Ste-Mère-Église, leaving him hanging from its roof-top to witness the carnage. The wounded paratrooper hung there limply for two hours, pretending to be dead, before the Germans took him prisoner. The less fortunate hung from the trees all around the square where they had been shot. Once the last of the paratroopers were killed or captured, the German garrison turned in.

Steele was rescued when US troops of the 3rd Battalion attacked the village capturing thirty Germans and killing another eleven.

  Church window Ste-M1ere-Eglise, remembering the paratroopers from heaven.

The famous waterpump which was used in the night of 5 to 6 June 1944 when a house was burning while the Germans shoot on landing airborne troops.

The museum is located in a large park, it is composed of two buildings. The first one, in parachute shape, shelters a glider, many weapons and equipment; one can view a film recalling the fightings from 5 to 6 June 1944. The second building presents a transport aircraft Douglas C47, uniforms and historic objects. Outside a Sherman tank is exposed.