my goal was to have everything in place so I could fly out of Orlando on the first week of September 2025. My roommate lease agreement was up so everything went into storage. The storage facility was actually rather nice since it was air conditioned. My Lake Country studio wasn’t air conditioned so my art was now in a better place for long term storage.
My goal for this a trip was to follow in my father’s footsteps as his 75th infantry, C-Company made its way through Europe. My original plan was to execute sketches over the course of 6 months. However in the last week of planning I learned about the Schlengen country rule which limited travel to 90 day or about 3 months. On the final 2 days in Orlando I researched and drew up a very concise plan which covers about 45 cities in 4 countries. I have maps and battle plans for many of the engagements but I learned that my father was a rather late replacement. The 75th Infantry had fought in the Battle of the Bulge and the Colmar pocket, but at that time my father was still in military training school in North Carolina. The 75th Infantry was at first referred to as the Diaper Division since the soldiers were so young. My father was 22 when he went overseas which was an old man for the 75th.
I at first was looking for ships that made the transatlantic trip but I get seasick and I absolutely hate cruise ships. My father left the states on February 10, 1945 and the sea voyage should have taken about 7 days. This was my key to cutting my trip back to 90 days. I would only look at cities and engagements that happened after February 17th. My father was a 1st Lieutenant so he would lead a company of about 50 men. The 75th Infantry was finishing the final battles in the Colmar Pocket where they pushed back Germans out of France. As the troops were being sent north, that is the time My father would have been arriving in Europe. The 75th Infantry map shows troops arriving in Europe via La Havre France, so that was my goal to get to La Havre on my first day. I flew into Paris and then found a Train heading to La Havre. It was an insanely long day, and I don’t think I slept a wink.