Why is there a monument of a paratrooper hanging from the church in sainte-mere-eglise?

The statue is of John Steele who was part of the U. S. 2nd Battalion of paratroopers that dropped on the town in normandy on D-Day, June 5, 1944. The dropping operation was largely unsuccessful and many of the soldiers were killed before they reached the ground. John Steele managed to survive after his parachute caught on the steeple of a church and he spent the ivasion hanging from his harness. He was later able to rejoin american troops and survived the war.