On the night of June 5 to 6, 1944, the British 6th Airborne Division parachuted into Normandy behind the Sword sector. Among the paratroopers were soldier Emile Corteil and his four-legged comrade, Glen.
To facilitate the Allied landing on Sword Beach, the 9th Battalion was parachuted on D-Day near the four guns of the Merville battery. This fortified point posed a real threat to the infantry landing on the beach, so the paratroopers had to neutralize it as quickly as possible. Among the assault team was a very special duo: dog handler Emile Servais Corteil, 19 years old, and Glen, his German Shepherd.
On D-Day, the drops did not go as planned, and like many of their comrades, Emile and his dog missed their landing zone. The wind carried them south of Cabourg, about fifteen kilometers from their objective. In Varaville, they joined Brigadier General James Hill, commanding the 3rd Brigade, along with 38 paratroopers from the 9th Parachute Battalion. After a quick briefing, the group headed northwest toward Merville.
But hours passed, and the infantry was soon to land on Sword Beach. The paratroopers were advancing along a path when Allied planes roared on the horizon. The Royal Air Force had to secure the area and prevent any enemy movement. The British pilots mistook the paratroopers for Germans. The mistake was devastating: the bombers dropped their deadly cargo on Brigadier Hill’s cohort. As the dust cleared, the officer assessed the losses. The toll was tragic: only the general and one paratrooper were unharmed; the others were killed or wounded. Emile Corteil and his dog Glen would not rise again. Yet the mission was a priority, and Hill continued on.
Weeks later, when a group of GIs was tasked with recovering the bodies of the missing, Emile Corteil was identified at the bottom of a shell crater. Beneath his body lay Glen, still leashed by his best friend, inseparable in death as in life.
Despite regulations, and thanks to pressure from his comrades on the military authorities, Emile and Glen were exceptionally buried together. They both rest at the Ranville War Cemetery in Calvados, Plot IA, Row G, Grave 13, where it reads: "Had you known our boy you would have loved him too. Glen his paratroop dog was killed with him."
On August 30, 2025, the Manche Canine Search and Rescue Team held a ceremony in honor of Emile Servais Corteil and his dog Glen.