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Colonel Henry John Sweeney MC (1 June 1919 – 4 June 2001), known as Tod Sweeney, was an officer of the British Army. During the Second World War he was a platoon commander in the coup de main operation, by gliderborne troops of the 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the 52nd), on D-Day, 6 June 1944, tasked to seize Horsa Bridge and Pegasus Bridge before the main assault on the Normandy beaches began. The following day he was awarded the Military Cross for rescuing a wounded member of his platoon while under heavy fire near Escoville. ==Early life and World War II== Sweeney was born in Blyth, Northumberland and educated at Douai School, Berkshire. He entered Douai Abbey as a novice monk. At the outbreak of the Second World War he enlisted in the Royal Army Pay Corps, later volunteering to join the infantry. He was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant into the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers and shortly afterwards transferred to the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, joining the 2nd (Airlanding) Battalion (the 52nd) in April 1942. At the time the battalion was assigned to the 1st Airlanding Brigade, part of the 1st Airborne Division, and converted into a glider infantry role. In May 1943 the battalion transferred from the 1st Airborne Division to 6th Airlanding Brigade, of the newly-formed 6th Airborne Division. He was a platoon commander in Major John Howard's 'D' Company ''coup de main'' Operation Deadstick on D-Day. The task was to seize Bénouville bridge, now known as Pegasus Bridge, over the Caen canal and Ranville bridge, now known as Horsa Bridge, over the River Orne. Sweeney and his No. 23 platoon's objective was, with two other platoons, to capture the Ranville bridge. On D-Day his platoon landed approximately 500 yards from Ranville bridge. On arrival at the bridge he left one section on the west bank and crossed the bridge with the other two sections. He met up with Lieutenant Dennis Fox on the far side of the bridge and found Fox's platoon in control of the bridge and surrounding area. By 00.26 hours on D-Day both bridges had been secured. The operation to capture the bridges was portrayed in the film The Longest Day (film) (1962). Sweeney was awarded the Military Cross for rescuing a wounded corporal of his platoon on 7 June 1944 while under heavy fire near Escoville. Sweeney was wounded during the Battle of Normandy in July 1944 and was evacuated to England. He rejoined the 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the 52nd) in October 1944. He served in the Ardennes and the Netherlands from December 1944 to February 1945. He served in Operation Varsity: the air assault landing over the Rhine on 24 March 1945. He took part in the advance across Germany to the Baltic sea. In October 1945 the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (the 52nd) was posted to Palestine. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tod Sweeney」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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