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onjour ! We have chosen to dedicate this newsletter to a historical date whose sixtieth
anniversary will be commemorated in just a few weeks: June 6, 1944. Well beyond the simple
political and strategic aspects of this day, it is the incredible and upsetting human ventures
of this exceptional occurrence which we wanted to focus on. With this in mind, we have chosen
references from a most remarkable book:
"They Were In Omaha Beach",
(click here to order this book - free shipping) including testimonials from
the direct and indirect actors of this great day, which changed the face of the world. Four years
of research, meetings, and interviews allowed its author, Laurent Lefebvre, to offer this invaluable
and moving collection, one that is a true historical document. Also, do not forget to read our
past newsletter about this day, which marked history forever: June 6, 1944.
But before continuing, please remember that you can
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| Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944 |
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Our Beach was "Omaha'
“Very quickly we learned that we would go in on D-Day, H-Hour, 6:30 a.m., and first wave.
This wasn't exactly a surprise, considering our preparations… We studied sand table mockups
of our landing area, identified the beach exits to be secured and our initial objective, the
village of Collevile-sur-Mer, on the Normandy coast. Our beach was designated as "Omaha',
with the landing area called "Easy Red." There were great, highly detailed still photographs,
taken by low flying P-38's, which clearly showed the beach expanse at low tide, obstacles in
the water and on the beach, and even a fair number of obviously surprised Jerry work parties
here and there. The actual date, June 5th, later moved to June 6th due to weather problems,
was selected since it would provide the lowest low tide for some months, and the idea was to
expose as many underwater obstacles and mines as possible.”
Sergeant Donald Wilson, 1st Infantry Division, 16th Infantry Regiment, Company F.
“I was based in a very small village by the name of Ivy Bridge, near Plymouth, in England.
We trained very hard and long hours. Sometimes it was after dark when we would return to camp,
tired, dirty, and very hungry. We were able to get a pass for a day, usually on Sunday and
would go into the village to attend church. Many times I, along with a couple of other soldiers
would be invited to a home for dinner after the service, and we thought that was wonderful. The
English had very little food and we felt we were taking food from them.”
Private Robert Lowry, 29th Infantry Division, 116th Infantry Regiment, Company C.
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Strawberry Tart
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Cooking SOS !
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Will I Survive?
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“We embarked from Weymouth on the 3rd or 4th of June. The name of our transport ship was
the Thomas Jefferson. On the night of the 5th we were told that we would land on the beach
at 6:30 am the next morning. It was a night for all of us to contemplate the results of
facing the unknown. The unknown fact such as: "Will I survive? Will I get a wound that
cripples me for life? What is it like to face the possibility of death?"... Our First
Sergeant’s name was John Dean. He and a friend of his from high school, Louis Milan, were
standing together talking when John took off his ring and pulled out his pocketbook and told
Louis he wanted him to give them to his mother when he got home. I was listening to his
conversation because they were only a few feet from me… John was persistent so Louis put
John's class ring and pocketbook in his pocket. The time was just before dark. The next
morning a German tank fired on us, there were about 65 men they fired at but only one
killed and you probably already know who that was… John Dean.”
Sergent John Thaxton, 29th Infantry Division, 116th Infantry Regiment, Company F.
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Look at the Sea!
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“Nothing abnormal happened until the sunrise, but the buzzing noise increased more and more.
And all of a sudden, the fog cleared up and unveiled thousands of boats: a superb and grandiose
sight. I shouted at my mother: "Look at the sea!" and out of my bedroom window, I shouted at my
neighbor coming out of his house: "it's D-Day, go see the sea, go admire it”. We were nine,
all staggered and ecstatic by the view when a cart arrived pulled by a fast Norman trotting horse.
It seemed to be a German junior officer who was riding in it; he was bare headed, wearing his tunic
open and his shirt puffed-out above his pants. Once arrived, the man got up, noticed the allied fleet,
raised his arms to the sky, jumped out of the cart and sprinted to the post that his men were guarding.
As for the horse, it ran back to its stable. As we felt that the shelling was about to start,
considering the proximity of the boats, everybody went back to their house. My mother took her
jewels and some money and went towards the shelter…As soon as I got to the shelter, the shelling
began. It was a little bit after 5:30 a.m.”
Michel Hardelay, 31 years old on June 6, 1944, resident of Vierville-sur-Mer
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Alarm! Alarm!
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“On June 06, 1944, at about 5:30 a.m., I woke up with the noise of the bombs. I joined my parents
who were watching through a window. After asking them what was going on, they told me that they
heard the Germans yelling "Alarm! Alarm!", and that they saw them rushing around the farm. I then
told them that it must have been some Wehrmacht maneuvers planned on June 06, as the Germans had
posted in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer. I was standing at the front door when I saw a plane crash. The Navy
shells were passing over us and the Germans were firing from Trévières.”
Albert Andre, 16 years old on June 6, 1944, resident of Saint-Laurent-Sur-Mer
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Starting the Adventure of our Young Lives
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“About 4:00 a.m. on June 06, 1944, we were awakened for a broadcast by General Eisenhower.
He thanked us and told us that we were part of the Normandy invasion which had commenced with
the landing of paratroopers and glider troops at midnight. Some of us prayed. Some sat and
talked. Others worked on their equipment. Some wrote letters or just sat quietly with their
thoughts. With the first rays of light, we wandered topside. There were ships everywhere. So
many ships, one could walk ashore from one to the other. Battleships and destroyers were firing
their big guns. Shore batteries were firing back. Landing craft were moving in big circles
from ships to shore and back again for those which were not sunk. Finally our time came. A
LCI (Landing Craft Infantry) pulled alongside our ship, a chain linked cargo net was lowered
over the side, and we scampered down into the landing craft to start the adventure of our
young lives. Most of us were 19 or 29 years old. The current was rough, and our craft drifted
to the beach named Utah. The skipper realized what happened and withdrew to head to the beach
named Omaha.”
Private Allen Levin, 29th Infantry Division, 115th Infantry Regiment, Cannon Company
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The Day We Truly Became Men
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“Most of these guys were so sea sick they could hardly move let alone think of combat or
what was ahead of them. All of a sudden we found ourselves in the middle of a mine field
and the left rear landing ramp blew up. A buddy of mine just put a flame thrower on his
back and a stray bullet from one of those Germans hit it and it exploded. We not only lost
the right landing ramp but a lot of lives as well. It was one of the worst thing I have ever
seen. Survivors were forced to jump into the Channel and swim to shore. You had to think quickly
to drop all of your gear in order to get to the top of the water. Then, dodging bullets, we
had to swim in and once on the beach run like hell. When I sat down and leaned my hand on the
sand for support to rest a minute, I looked down and saw blood running up between my fingers.
I'm no hero. People think we were but I'm not. We had a job to do and we did it and if we had
to do it all over again, we would.”
Caporal Ernest P. Douvette, 6th Engineer Special Brigade, 293rd JASCO
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Homage to the Past
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As you can imagine, the task of reading these testimonials and then having to select but a few was
quite a difficult one. How can one choose, when all, without exception, carry such strong messages?
The will to fight and accomplish such an extraordinary mission. The human fear of dying. The painful
and unjust misfortune of losing a companion. It is very unfortunate that in this newsletter, we could
only focus on one group of men, those who suffered so much on Omaha Beach, when so many others also
fought valiantly and died: The paratroopers of the previous day, those who unloaded on Utah Beach,
Juno Beach, Gold Beach and Sword Beach... and finally all of those who, after having lived through hell on the
beaches of Normandy, carried on and fought with such courage: Americans, English, Canadians,
Australians, New Zealanders and French, to free Europe. Private First Class Joseph H. Dougherty
wrote "In 1994, I returned to visit your country. We went on the beach where we had unloaded 50
years before. That was the most emotional moment of my life. I cried like a baby." This year
will be remembered by a commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary and the emotions will be the
same for all. In light of such sacrifice and true thirst for liberty where mere words seem too weak: “Merci!”
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