Voices from D-Day

by Jon E. Lewis

  Your son,

  Friedrich

  [Died 13 September 1944]

  Trooper Peter Davies, 1st East Riding Yeomanry

  I hated Hitler and what he stood for, and I felt that we were there to free the French people – which we were. It was a just war.

  …

  It’s still terribly difficult when I visit my friends’ graves. It’s still hard to think back. It still brings a lump to my throat. I’m lucky, I’m here. It was worthwhile because if we hadn’t stopped Hitler and the Nazis doing what they did we wouldn’t be able to live the life we live today, wouldn’t have the freedom we have today. If we contributed only one little bit to the freedom of the world in 1944 it was worthwhile.

  …

  You shove the bits you want to forget into the back of your mind. If you can. You can’t always do it. Try and push them out of the way. You remember the fun, the comradeship that you had, the men that you lived with – they were like brothers, closer than brothers some of them, closer than your own family because you relied for your life on them, and they relied on you.

  Leonard Miles, 168 General Transport Company

  When I got home at the end of the war I found it very difficult adjusting. I felt terrible. As a matter of fact it took me a very long time – two or three years, really – because it was so different from the war. And we’d left so many behind, and I couldn’t get that out of my system. I was forever thinking about them.

  Captain Edward W. McGregor, US 1st Infantry Division

  Hell, what the English went through in the war. Nothing like it happened in America of course and that permeated my thinking. Incidentally I had an American girlfriend and had written her and said that I had met this very nice English girl. Well, she didn’t accept that I guess but I couldn’t disassociate myself from the war and everything. It was so different in America. I even kind of resented coming back to the States. I went through a terrible period – a psychological period – that started as soon as the war ended, by which time we were in Czechoslovakia. I was a Major then, the S3, plans and operations officer. Suddenly I received the order on the telephone from Division on 7 May: the order was ‘Cease all further forward movement.’ The effect, no guns any more … well there wasn’t a great feeling of elation to tell you the truth. We had been at it so long, those of us who had come all the way through. It was a very selfish thing in a way, but I realized that a mode of life had changed. It was the end of an era. I didn’t know what the future held in store. I wasn’t a regular officer then, I was a reserve officer – a lot of us were – on extended active duty. I didn’t know what to expect when I got home.

  Marine Stanley Blacker, RM

  I felt very, very proud of my country, and I felt proud of serving. I still do. We felt we were liberating Europe. There were hundreds who did more than I did, far more. But we all felt we were on a mission to liberate Europe from an age of darkness.

  William Seymour, RN

  We wouldn’t be free today. There’s a feeling of satisfaction to have been involved.

  John G. Coleman

  A little while later we heard reports that all the Americans based at the Penllwyn Pontllanfraith were killed on the Omaha beach landing.

  Our hearts were sad for we knew those guys over the months they were camped at the Penllwyn, and now they were gone. I shall not forget them.

  Captain Joseph T. Dawson, US 1st Infantry Division

  My whole life since has been one of readjusting my feelings, because I had a very intense bitterness towards the Germans. I felt that they were an enemy that had to be destroyed, and I looked on them in that light rather than any human light, because I was not accustomed to taking human life. I was never a professional soldier. I was a civilian that was granted the opportunity to defend my country. My feelings had been developed over the years, a feeling that the Germans under Hitler were a menace to humanity. I volunteered as a private and ended up a colonel at the end of the war. I could see the war clouds in 1935 when we were shipping steel to Japan; it was obvious that the axis of Germany and Japan was hell-bent on America’s destruction and the dominance of the world. My personal feeling deepened when I was in England, when I came into contact with the English. My admiration for them is boundless. I couldn’t help but feel that they provided the front line of defence for the world.

  …

  I have come to realize, very deeply, that that moment of D-Day marked a turning point of the twentieth century – it was perhaps the most dramatic moment of the twentieth century, because it enabled the freedom of the world. There’s something sacred about it.

  …

  I was offered a full commission in the regular army if I retained my position, if I stayed in the army.

  I will say with a great deal of pride that all my friends that served with me on Omaha beach retired as Major-Generals and Lieutenant-Generals and have made notable careers in the service. However, I was not a professional soldier – I was in the oil business before the war and thought I could serve my country in some other capacity than the army. But I didn’t know how I could adjust, having had so much of it, the war, in me for four and a half years, and in active combat for three years of that. So I had a real emotional and mental problem to resolve; fortunately the men that I was associated with prior to the war had saved a position for me with their company and I was able to adjust, through their help and a resolution on my part to make a life of service as a civilian. Mostly though I was able to adjust because I met the girl I would marry, who would become my wife. I think that was the thing which stabilized my life.

  …

  To be effective as an infantryman and to be able to subordinate your feelings to the reality that you’re destroying the enemy … well, that’s about as 180 degrees from civilian life as you can get. In war, you condition your mind to the reality of leaving all emotion out of your personal feelings and direct yourself to being effective in destroying the enemy. You can’t take that into civilian life, where if you have conflicts you don’t settle them in a mortal way. That was the main difficulty I had, getting the army and the war out of my system. It took a number of years to do that, but I was able to do it largely because of the wonderful relationship I have had with my family. War is ugly, it’s deadly, it’s dirty. A man has to almost reduce himself to an animal to be effective, because he’s got to lose all degree of emotion to be effective.

  …

  It’s taken years to overcome my bitterness towards the Germans, but at the same time I can’t ever completely erase my feelings. Near the termination of the war I had the unfortunate experience of being at Dachau [Nazi death camp] when we opened it up. It was something that has stayed with me so vividly throughout my life. At the time I was there I couldn’t have food in my stomach for a week, it unnerved me so much … I guess that’s the reason I’ve had such a deep bitterness towards the German people: they couldn’t have helped but know the things that were going on. There’s no way in God’s green earth that they didn’t know. There’s a certain strain in there that is evil – I can’t think of any other way of saying it. I know we all become bestial in combat, but combat is one thing and destruction of humanity in that way is disgusting, obscene. I’ll never get over it.

  War is not a noble thing. You have to realize that in doing your duty you’ve got to do things which are bestial … but I guess you’ve got to go through the muck to get to the shining hour. It had to be done. You only had to visit one concentration camp to realize the nadir the German people had reached.

  …

  It is awesome, even now, to me to see how we could possibly have survived, because the terrain there [Omaha] is remarkable in that it has the high ridge overlooking the beach itself, in such a dramatic way. When I go back with members of my company today, we marvel how we ever got off there in the first place because they commanded such a tremendous advantage over us. It was only just the luck of God that allowed me to find a little opening which permitted us to get off of the
beach. I’ve always felt a degree of humility as well as thanking God for having had the opportunity for making a break which allowed us to proceed off of Omaha.

  Private Robert Macduff, Wiltshire Regiment

  It seems to me sometimes that Nature’s way of overcoming the conscience factor and the traumas one goes through is to put them right at the back of the mind. If ever recalled, it becomes very painful.

  Flight Lieutenant J.G. Hayden, RAF

  At the time I left the RAF there was a cry for teachers. So I took the course, which was a new thing altogether, a new challenge which helped me adjust to civilian life reasonably well.

  W. Emlyn ‘Taffy’ Jones, 1st Special Service Brigade

  It was peculiar, you know, going back home afterwards. You didn’t know what to find, what reception you’d have. I saw a film once – oh, what was it called? About the Vietnam war and a Pole. The Deerhunter, that’s it – and it had one thing which stuck out in my mind, that moved me. It was when the character came back from Vietnam to his home town and he hid behind a telegraph pole or a tree wondering whether to go in or not. I had that same sort of feeling. It took me a couple of years to get myself sorted out. It was a sort of cooling down, I suppose … They – the war years – were happy days for me. I was among men. In a way I miss those days.

  Nevin F. Price, USAAF 39th Bomb Group

  If we hadn’t invaded Normandy, we’d all be speaking German now.

  Alfred Leonard, Merchant Navy

  Cordite. I can remember vividly the smell of cordite. It stays with you, and when you get a smell which is near it it can sort of trigger off the memories. It’s a very difficult smell to describe … I’ve smelt it a little bit with electrics, if you get a short and there’s a metallic smell. That smells more or less like it.

  It was a very short time in my life, a very hectic time, and I was trying to take it all in.

  Sergeant Richard W. Herklotz, US 29th Division

  It was not an heroic operation. I don’t think of it as heroic. There was a cause that the nation wanted us to do, and we did it. And those who survived can thank their lucky stars that they did.

  Gravestone epitaphs from British Commonwealth Cemeteries, Ryes and Bayeux:

  Private A. Richards, Hampshire Regiment

  I wonder why you had to die without a chance to say goodbye. Eileen and family.

  Private F.A. Kelly, Devonshire Regiment

  Beloved / Your Duty Bravely Done / Rest in Peace / Mum.

  Trooper A.J. Cole, 61st Regiment, Reece Corps, RAC

  The Dearest daddy and Husband in the World. We will love you for Ever, Darling.

  APPENDIX 1

  Order of the Day

  The Supreme Commander issued an order of the day to the troops under his command on 5 June:

  Soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force. You are about to embark on a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere go with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

  Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight, fight savagely. But in this year of 1944 much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940 and 1941.

  The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air, and their capacity to wage war on the ground.

  Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and have placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men.

  The tide has turned. The free men of the world are marching together to victory. I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory.

  Good luck and let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

  This order was distributed to assault elements. It was read by appropriate commands to all other troops in the Allied Expeditionary Force.

  APPENDIX 2

  Allied Order of Battle

  SUPREME HEADQUARTERS ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE

  Supreme Allied Commander

  General Dwight D. Eisenhower

  Chief of Staff

  General Walter Bedell Smith

  TWENTY-FIRST ARMY GROUP

  General Sir Bernard L. Montgomery

  Commander-in-Chief

  Major-General Sir Francis W. de Guingand

  Chief of Staff

  GHQ AND ARMY TROOPS

  79th Armoured Division

  Major-General Sir Percy C.S. Hobart

  30th Armoured Brigade

  22nd Dragoons

  1st Lothians and Border Horse

  2nd County of London Yeomanry (Westminster Dragoons)

  141st Regiment RAC

  1st Tank Brigade

  11th, 42nd and 49th Battalions RTR

  1st Assault Brigade RE

  5th, 6th and 42nd Assault Regiments RE

  79th Armoured Divisional Signals 1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment

  INDEPENDENT BRIGADES

  4th Armoured Brigade

  The Royal Scots Greys

  3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) (to 28.7.44)

  3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) (from 29.7.44)

  44th Battalion RTR

  2nd Battalion the King’s Royal Rifle Corps (Motor)

  6th Guards Tank Brigade

  4th Tank Battalion Grenadier Guards

  4th Tank Battalion Coldstream Guards

  3rd Tank Battalion Scots Guards

  27th Armoured Brigade (to 29.7.44)

  13th/18th Royal Hussars

  1st East Riding Yeomanry

  The Staffordshire Yeomanry

  8th Armoured Brigade

  4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards

  24th Lancers (to 29.7.44)

  The Nottinghamshire Yeomanry

  13th/18th Royal Hussars (from 29.7.44)

  12th Battalion the King’s Royal Rifle Corps (Motor)

  33rd Armoured Brigade

  1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry

  144th Regiment RAC (to 22.8.44)

  148th Regiment RAC (to 16.8.44)

  1st East Riding Yeomanry (from 16.8.44)

  31st Tank Brigade

  7th Battalion RTR (to 17.8.44)

  9th Battalion RTR (to 31.8.44)

  144th Regiment RAC (23–31.8.44)

  2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade

  6th Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars)

  10th Armoured Regiment (the Fort Garry Horse)

  27th Armoured Regiment (the Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment)

  34th Tank Brigade

  107th and 147th Regiments RAC

  153rd Regiment RAC (to 24.8.44)

  HQ Anti-Aircraft Brigades

  74th, 76th, 80th, 100th, 101st, 105th, 106th and 107th

  Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiments

  60th, 86th, 90th, 99th, 103rd, 105th, 107th, 108th, 109th, 112th, 113th, 115th, 116th, 121st, 146th, 165th and 174th; 2nd Canadian

  Light Anti-Aircraft Regiments

  20th, 27th, 32nd, 54th, 71st, 73rd, 93rd, 109th, 112th, 113th, 114th, 120th, 121st, 123rd, 124th, 125th, 126th, 127th, 133rd, 139th and 149th

  Searchlight Regiments

  41st

  [56th Infantry Brigade]

  (Became integral part of the 49th Division from 20.8.44)

  2nd Battalion the South Wales Borderers

  2nd Battalion the Gloucestershire Regiment

  2nd Battalion the Essex Regiment

  1st Special Service Brigade

  Nos. 3, 4 and 6 Commandos

  No. 45 (Royal Marine) Commando

  47th Special Service Brigade

  Nos. 41, 46,
47 and 48 (Royal Marine) Commandos

  OTHER FORMATIONS AND UNITS

  Armoured

  GHQ Liaison Regiment RAC (‘Phantom’)

  2nd Armoured Replacement Group

  2nd Armoured Delivery Regiment

  25th Canadian Armoured Delivery Regiment (The Elgin Regiment)

  Artillery

  HQ Army Groups Royal Artillery: 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th; 2nd Canadian

  Heavy Regiments: 1st, 51st, 52nd, 53rd and 59th

  Medium Regiments: 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 53rd, 59th, 61st, 63rd, 64th, 65th, 67th, 68th, 72nd, 77th, 79th, 84th, 107th, 121st and 146th; 3rd, 4th and 7th Canadian

  Field Regiments: 4th RHA, 6th, 25th, 86th, 147th, 150th and 191st; 19th Canadian

  Engineer

  HQ Army Groups Royal Engineers: 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th; 1st Canadian

  GHQ Troops Engineers: 4th, 7th, 8th, 13th, 15th, 18th, 48th and 59th

  Airfield Construction Groups: 13th, 16th, 23rd, 24th and 25th

  Army Troops Engineers: 2nd, 6th and 7th; 1st and 2nd Canadian

  2nd and 3rd Battalions Royal Canadian Engineers

  Signal

  Twenty-First Army Group Headquarters Signals

  Second Army Headquarters Signals

  First Canadian Army Headquarters Signals

  Air Formation Signals, Nos. 11, 12, 13, 16, 17 and 18

  1st Special Wireless Group

  Infantry

  4th Battalion the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (Machine Gun)

  First Canadian Army Headquarters Defence Battalion (Royal Montreal Regiment)

  Royal Marine

  Armoured Support Group: 1st and 2nd Royal Marine Armoured Support Regiments

  Army Air Corps

  Glider Pilot Regiment: 1st and 2nd Glider Pilot Wings

  Special Air Service