Remembering D-Day by Chuck Baldwin
If December 7, 1941 was the day that would live in infamy then June 6, 1944 was the day that would live in infinity. On this date fifty years ago the invasion of France by Allied Forces began under the code name, "Operation Overlord." A phalanx of ships totalling more than 5,000 of more than one hundred different varieties and 1,200 transport planes carried more than one quarter of a million men into the greatest military invasion in the history of the world. By July 1, over one million soldiers had landed. They were met by 50 infantry divisions and 10 tank divisions of Hitler's best. At stake was the fate of the war in Europe and the fate of freedom for the world. It was the German Field Marshal, Erwin Pommel, who predicted that, "For the Allies, as well as Germany, it will be the longest day." How right he was! By the end ofthat twenty-four hours over 2,500 allied soldiers and sailors had slipped into eternity. No one knows how many Germans did the same. But the end of that day also brought a great victory for the Allied forces and the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany.
The Pathfinders and Paratroopers arrived first. It was Brig. Gen. James "Jumpin' Jim" Gavin who warned his troops, "When you land in Normandy you will have only one friend: God." So, in the pre-dawn darkness of 6 June 20,000 Paratroopers descended into occupied France. Eisenhower was more worried about the airborne operation than any other part of the invasion. His fears were warranted. Of the 120 Pathfinders only 38 landed on their targets. It is believed that Pvt. Leonard Devorchak was the first American killed on D-Day. Some of the Paratroopers fell into swollen swamps, others into the Channel itself and with heavily weighted equipment on their backs, drowned - some in less than two feet of water. Some were carried by brisk winds into the occupied town of Ste. Mere-Eglise.
As fate would have it a villa had caught fire in the town square and about 100 inhabitants were busy passing buckets trying to put out the fire. Some of our brave Paratroopers screamed as they landed in the middle of that blazing inferno. Others were machine-gunned to death as they descended into the heavily armed village. Our men were strewn and scattered over miles of enemy territory, enlisted men without officers and officers with no men to lead. Numbered in the latter group was Major General Maxwell Taylor. He found himself with a plethora of officers, but only three enlisted men. He told them, "Never have so few been commanded by so many." But if confusion and disarray prevailed among our Paratroopers, it was even more in evidence among the German defenders. They still had no idea that the invasion had begun.
As dawn broke the Allied armada descended upon the beaches of Normandy. The names of those beaches were immortalized in our minds: Sword, June, Gold, Omaha and Utah. Under the command of General Montgomery the British 2nd Army attacked Sword, June and Gold, while the U.S. First Army stormed Utah and Omaha. The resolve of the infantry soldiers was unmistakable. On the H.M.S. Empire Anvil, Cpl. Michael Kurtz said to his squad, "As soon as we're spotted we'll catch enemy fire. If you make it, okay. If you don't, it's a good place to die. Now let's go."
One free Frenchman numbered among that gallant group said, "We shall die on the sands of our dear France, but we will not turn back." Such was the commitment and dedication of those brave men.
So, with heavy artillery from innumerable Naval guns and the strafing of formation after formation of Air Force and Navy planes, some 11,000 in all, the invasion began. Perhaps it was the worst at Omaha Beach. "Bloody Omaha" they called it. And indeed it was. General Omar Bradley was concerned about Omaha Beach. He knew his First Infantry Division was attacking some of the most battle proven of all of Germany's divisions, the tough 352nd. And, like Eisenhower's concern for the paratroopers, Bradley's fears for his beloved First Infantry were also justified. Landing craft were blown apart as they came in. German mortar and machine gun fire were omnipresent. Misfortune piled upon misfortune for those on Omaha. Many soldiers landed in the wrong sectors. Demolition engineers, who were supposed to blow paths through the beach obstacles, were egregiously behind schedule. As a result, demolition teams were running into invading infantrymen. Many assault troops were taking shelter behind the very obstacles the engineers were trying to blow up! During those initial moments it was as if time stood still and Armageddon had begun. Bodies and parts of bodies were floating on the water, and, yes, flying through the air! Every wave of the sea regurgitated more bodies, more blood, more ruined equipment. The young medics accounts of this awesome spectacle are incredible. Sgt. Alfred Eigenberg told of seeing a soldier whose leg was "laid open from the knee to the pelvis as neatly as though a surgeon had done it with a scalpel." The wound was so deep that Eigenberg could see the femoral artery pulsing. The young medic did the only thing he knew to do. He folded the nearly sliced halves of the man's leg together and carefully closed the wound with safety pins.
Over at Utah Beach it was a different story. Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt, the 57 year old son of the former President, and the only General to land with first-wave troops, studied to determine why his forces had met with so little resistance. He quickly figured it out. They had landed in the wrong place! 30,000 troops and 3,500 vehicles were right behind him. If a corrective decision was not made immediately a major defeat was imminent. Roosevelt turned to his battalion commanders and said, "We're going to start the war from here." He subsequently took his Fourth Infantry Division and drove inland taking out German positions wherever they found them.
Now on the beaches of Sword, June and Gold, the British and Canadians were landing. By and large these troops encountered less resistance than did the Americans on Omaha. They would make D-Day's greatest advances, but they failed to capture their principal objective-the city of Caen. There they encountered the plucky 21st Panzer Division who held on to the town for the next five weeks.
By mid-morning it was obvious that the Allies would succeed. By nightfall there were 150,000 allied troops ashore and thousands more on their way. The Nazis were doomed to defeat. Germany surrendered less than a year later.
In all historical incidents, especially those of major significance, there are stories behind the stories. Perhaps nowhere is this more in evidence than in the stories of great battles. In that dastardly winter of 1775 when Washington's troops were starving and freezing it looked as if our valiant struggle for independence was about to crumble. Washington's response was to cross the Delaware River and attack a far superior, fresher, better equipped, better fed, better conditioned enemy. We know the story, don't we? What you may not recall was when Washington's troops began crossing the Delaware the adversarial guards sent a word of warning to the Hessian general that an attack had begun. Had the Commander responded to that message Washington would certainly have been defeated. But the General was in the middle of a huge victory party. So, being handed the warning, he simply wadded it up and put it in his pocket without even reading it.
It is very interesting that June 6 is not only the date of D-Day it is also the birthday of Mrs. Erwin Rommel. As such, the great Commander had left Normandy to return to Germany to be with his wife. He was sure the weather was too inclement for an attack. Rommel left Normandy on June 4. On June 5 Allied Chief Meteorologist, Capt. J.M. Staff of the Royal Air Force told General Eisenhower that there would be twenty-four hours of relief in the weather. Just twenty-four hours. Eisenhower deliberated his decision for about five minutes. Slowly he said, "I am quite positive we must give the order. I don't like it, but there it is. I don't see how we can do anything else."
What did Washington and Eisenhower have in common? Did Washington know that the enemy Commander would discard the warning of his attack? Did Eisenhower know Rommel would be gone from the battle-front? What caused that twenty-four hour clearing in the weather the same day Rommel was home for his wife's birthday? What is the thread that binds so much of our country's history together? Perhaps Lincoln said it best. During those dark days of the Civil War, an aide said the President, "I sure hope God is on our side." Mr. Lincoln replied, "I am not at all concerned about that for I know that God is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation be on God's side."
When our troops crossed the Delaware River we were fighting for liberty. When our forces landed on the Normandy coast we were fighting for liberty. When the flag was hoisted over Iwo Jima we were fighting for liberty. When we sent our young men to the icy mountains of Korea, the steamy jungles of Vietnam and the desert sands of Iraq we were fighting for freedom: freedom to speak, freedom to worship, freedom to elect our representatives, freedom to protect and provide for our families. When men fight for liberty, God fights with them! The Scripture puts it this way, "Where the Spirit ofthe Lord is, there is liberty." Turn it around and it says, "Where liberty is, there is the Spirit of the Lord." In our National Anthem, the inspired pen of Francis Scott Key asks the question, "Oh say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?" Thanks to the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Coast Guardsmen of D-Day, yes, Old Glory still waves!
Speech delivered June 6, 1994
National Cemetary
Naval Air Station
Pensacola, Florida
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