Robert Kehoe, ’Jedburgh’ radioman who jumped into Nazi-controlled France after D-Day, has died

With a .45-caliber pistol and extra ammunition strapped to his belt, Robert Kehoe could feel the weight of his parachute and rucksack, which was full of equipment and supplies for the impending mission.

Two of his comrades carried a lighter load and were thus strapped with American-made carbines. Kehoe’s rifle was packed in a cargo container so that he could carry the extra eight cipher books, dry-cell batteries and transmission crystals required to operate the two 40-pound radios, which were, thankfully, also packed in a separate container.

On June 9, several days after the invasion at Normandy, Kehoe and 14 others boarded the three British Stirling bombers that would fly them at low altitude into Nazi-controlled France.

In the air, all Kehoe could hear were the sound of the engines and the rushing wind. Even though he had trained extensively for this moment, Kehoe felt nervous. He approached the plane’s open bomb bay doors and dropped.