Rommel flooded the fields behind the beaches. We had some airborne troops drown in two feet of water. My Pop also saw the paratroopers killed when they came down over St. Mere Eglese, whose bodies were hanging in the trees and on buildings.
Yes, their losses were very high, from gliders being shot up and crashing, to men dropping into trees and rooftops where Germans machine gunned them.
Hard to imagine the amount of courage it took to jump into that hell.