Randy Brandt, programmer of Beagle Bros and JEM Software fame, has launched a Kickstarter for “Heroes of D-Day: 101st Airborne“ – playing cards featuring WW2 mini-biographies. The Kickstarter has 23 days to go with a goal of $1,944 to fully fund the project.
As Randy shared, “We are three months from the 80th anniversary of D-Day. In honor of the brave paratroopers of the 101st Airborne, I’ve created a special deck of playing cards.”
Randy is passionate about history and its preservation, especially as it relates to World War II. For many years, he has offered tours for military history at his Band of Tours site, focusing on Normandy (Operation Overlord), the Netherlands (Operation Market Garden), Belgium (Battle of the Bulge), and sometimes Germany (Operation Varsity). Equally interesting, he has a related “See Our Trip” podcast.
According to Randy’s Kickstarter, “June 6, 2024 marks 80 years since men of “The Greatest Generation” dropped from the skies to prepare for those about to storm the beaches of France on D-Day. As someone who grew up loving sports cards and World War II history, I decided to combine my two interests and create cards to honor the heroes who sacrificed for our freedom. My hope is that many who don’t have the inclination to read a book will read these snippets of history.”
“As seen on the epic Band of Brothers HBO series, the 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment displayed spades on their helmets for quick identification during combat. The rest of the 101st Airborne Division maintained the card theme: the 501 used diamonds, the 502 featured hearts, and the 327 Glider Infantry Regiment displayed clubs. With that history, it was inevitable that instead of mere collector cards, I needed to create a deck of playing cards with men from each regiment. My wife pointed out that the Queen cards needed to honor women, so I selected an honorary female member for each regiment from among the numerous heroic women involved in defeating the Nazis.”
