Four Veterans Remember D-Day
Beginning on June 6, 1944, more than 150,000 Allied troops landed on a broad stretch of beaches on the coast of Normandy, in German-held France. Entrenched behind concrete walls and bunkers were more than 50,000 German soldiers. Seventy years later, four veterans of the largest amphibious invasion in history recall their experiences.
SWEETWATER, Tenn. — We awoke at 2 a.m. on June 7, 1944, the day after D-Day. After a hearty breakfast at our base in Britain, we secured our equipment and walked a mile to our British Horsagliders. The first glider, towed by a cargo plane, took off at 4:35 a.m. for Normandy, a little over two hours away. It was still dark.
The gliders, which carried up to 25 men, were a critical part of the invasion: Silent and fast, they were used to insert advance troops behind enemy lines. Hundreds of them flew into France during those first few days.
KENT, England —I have no idea what time it was on June 6, 1944, when we boarded an enormous troop ship in Newhaven, England, but it was dark.
Some hours later the order was given to line up to board the assault craft — the small boats tied up alongside the ship that would take us to the beach. So there we were, in a line across the deck, with a small pack containing explosives, tin hat, loaded rifle, full ammunition packs and a bandoleer with even more ammunition.
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