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Neptune’s Might: Amphibious Forces in

A Coast Guard LCVP crew prepares to take soldiers to , , 1944 Photo 26-G-2349. U.S. Coast Guard Photo, Courtesy Naval History and Heritage Command

By Kern Program Assistant, National History Day

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“The point was that we on the scene knew for sure that we could substitute machines for lives and that if we could plague and smother the enemy with an unbearable weight of machinery in the months to follow, hundreds of thousands of our young men whose expectancy of survival would otherwise have been small could someday walk again through their own front doors.”

- , Brave Men

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What is National History Day?

National History Day is a non-profit organization which promotes history education for secondary and elementary education students. The program has grown into a national program since its humble beginnings in Cleveland, Ohio in 1974. Today over half a million students participate in National History Day each year, encouraged by thousands of dedicated teachers. Students select a historical topic related to a theme chosen each year. They conduct primary and secondary research on their chosen topic through libraries, archives, museums, historic sites, and interviews. Students analyze and interpret their sources before presenting their work in original papers, exhibits, documentaries, websites, or performances. Students enter their projects in contests held each spring at the local, state, and national level where they are evaluated by professional historians and educators. The program culminates in the Kenneth E. Behring National Contest, held on the campus of the University of at College Park each June.

In addition to discovering the wonderful world of the past, students learn valuable skills which are critical to future success, regardless of a student’s future field:

• Critical thinking and problem solving skills • Research and reading skills • Oral and written communication and presentation skills • Self-esteem and confidence • A sense of responsibility for and involvement in the democratic process

Participation in the National History Day contest leads to success in school and success after graduation. More than five million NHD students have gone on to successful careers in many fields, including business, law, and medicine. NHD helps students become more analytical thinkers and better communicators, even if they do not choose to pursue a career in history.

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What is the Normandy Scholars Institute?

Established in 2011, the Normandy Scholars Institute is a program which teaches high school students and teachers about D-Day and the fighting in Normandy during World War II. The program is a partnership between National History Day and The George Washington University made possible by the generosity of Albert H. Small. Mr. Small is a veteran of the U.S. Navy who served in Normandy during World War II. He is passionate about history education and wants to ensure that the sacrifices of World War II veterans are honored and remembered by America’s youth.

Each winter National History Day selects a group of teachers from across the country to participate in the program. Each teacher selects a student to work with during the institute. The teacher and student work as a team, learning side-by-side, making the institute a unique educational experience. Starting in spring, the team reads books on World War II and on D-Day, giving them a better understanding of the history and historical context of the campaign. Each student selects a soldier from their community who was killed during the war and who is buried at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. The team works with a research mentor to learn about the life of their soldier. In June, the teams travel to Washington, DC for several days of program events before flying to to visit the historical sites where the teams’ soldiers fought and died. The trip culminates with a trip to the American cemetery where the student reads a eulogy in front of their soldier’s grave. After returning to the , the students and teachers share their experience with others by making a website about their soldier and giving presentations at their schools.

In addition to getting to experience Normandy firsthand, students and teachers will:

• Learn the true cost of war and the meaning of freedom and sacrifice • Improve research and problem solving skills • Attain a deeper understanding of America’s participation in World War II • Establish relationships with peers and colleagues from across the country

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Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………..6

Amphibious Combat, 1915-1943………………………………..7

The Western Naval Task Force………………………………….9

The Engineer Special Brigade…………………………………...11

Landing Craft Flotilla…………………………………………….13

Naval Combat Demolition Unit………………………………….19

Naval Beach ……………………………………………22

Naval Construction Battalion…………………………………….27

Port Battalion…………………………………………………….31

Quartermaster Battalion and Amphibious Truck Battalion……...35

Amphibious Combat in Normandy………………………………40

Resources…………………………………………………………42

Bibliography………………………………………………………48

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Introduction

This guide covers U.S. amphibious forces in Normandy. It should be a helpful reference for students who are researching a sailor or soldier from any of the types of units listed below. This guide discusses the history, organization, tactics, and combat experiences of the men in these units. It is worth reading all sections of this guide regardless of the type of unit your soldier served with, because these units all worked together. Engineer Special Brigades also had engineer – these units are covered in the support guide and will not be discussed in this guide. Students researching a soldier from an engineer unit or medical battalion assigned to an Engineer Special Brigade will want to take a look at the support guide as well as this one, for details on their soldier’s unit.

• Landing Craft Flotilla • Naval Combat Demolition Unit • Naval Beach Battalion • Naval Construction Battalion • Port Battalion • Quartermaster Battalion and Amphibian Truck Battalion

Assault Wave Cox’n, Dwight Shepler, 1944 Courtesy Naval Heritage and History Command Art Collection

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Amphibious Combat, 1915-1943

When American planners looked at the potential threats facing the United States in the early 1920s, Japan was at the top of the list for most officers. U.S. military strategists understood that a war against Japan would be fought in the and would require the Navy to play a major role. Planners believed that to defeat Japan, the would have to fight a naval campaign in the Western Pacific Ocean. To successfully conduct such a campaign, the Navy would need to capture bases in the Pacific from which it could supply and repair its .1

There were plenty of amphibious assaults before the 1920s. American troops had participated in landings at Vera Cruz in 1914 and at Havana and Manila in 1898. Along with almost every other amphibious operation in history, these landings were not made against enemy resistance. Troops landed without significant resistance and only had to fight once they had moved to their objective. A notable exception to that rule was the Allied landing at Gallipoli in 1915. At Gallipoli, Australian, New Zealand, British, and French troops assaulted a beach fiercely defended by Turkish forces. The Allied operation failed – surviving Allied soldiers were withdrawn by the after months of unsuccessful assaults against Turkish defenses. Most military strategists decided that capturing a strongly-defended beach from the sea was impossible – instead the best plan was to land troops at an undefended spot several miles away and attack the objective from land.2

The United States Marine Corps – searching for a specific mission which would it from being absorbed into the Army – decided to become experts at amphibious assaults. The Marines knew that attacks against Pacific islands would be defended – the islands were so small that there was no undefended spot to bring in troops. So they began to study the problem of successfully landing and supplying troops on a beach under fire. In 1920, Marine Corps Commandant Major General John Lejeune directed Major Ellis to prepare a plan for amphibious operations. Major Ellis’s ideas were tested and refined over the next decade, eventually being published as the Tentative Manual for Landing Operations in 1934. The Marines, with the enthusiastic support of the Navy, tested their ideas in annual Fleet Landing Exercises. The Army was more skeptical about amphibious operations, but they participated too, giving all branches of the U.S. military experience with the problems of landing troops from the

1 American 1920s strategic planning, Allan R. Millet. “Assault from the sea: The development of amphibious warfare between the wars – the American, British, and Japanese experiences.” In Military Innovation in the Interwar Period. Williamson Murray and Allan R. Millett, eds. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996, 56-59.

2 Development of U.S. amphibious doctrine in the interwar period, Millet, 70-78. 7 sea. The Tentative Manual became the accepted American doctrine in 1938, published as Landing Operations Doctrine, USN, 1938.3

The Americans were fortunate that the first amphibious landings they participated in during WWII were not made against tough resistance on the beach. During the landings at Guadalcanal in August 1942, North in November 1942, and in July 1943, troops were able to land and organize themselves on the beach before encountering significant resistance. For the Guadalcanal landings, the Marines packed their most important equipment and supplies into the transport ships first. Once they got to Guadalcanal, the Marines had to wait for ammunition and medical supplies while less-important gear like tents and electric generators were unloaded from the ships. After this experience, the Marines learned to ‘assault load’ their ships – the equipment the Marines needed on the beach first was put into the ships last, so that it could be unloaded first once the got to the beach. The harshest test came at Tarawa in November 1943. Landing craft carrying Marines ashore became beached on coral reefs half a mile from the beaches, forcing men to wade to shore while machinegun fire swept through their ranks. Naval gun and air support was ineffective in destroying Japanese bunkers. By battle’s end, over half of the Marines which had landed on the tiny island had been killed or wounded. By 1944, the Marine Corps, Army, and Navy had learned difficult lessons and had improved their amphibious capabilities. New types of landing craft were developed. Naval gun and air techniques were refined. Specialized teams of combat demolition men were ready to map beaches before landings and to clear paths through obstacles during a landing. The Army even created specialized amphibious warfare units which could organize a quickly, so that supplies and reinforcements could get ashore as quickly as possible to ensure that the invasion succeeded. The system which was used at Normandy was the result of two years of hard lessons, learning, and experimentation.4

Army Amphibious Forces uniform patch

3 Development of U.S. amphibious doctrine in the interwar period, Millet, 70-78.

4 Landings at Guadalcanal, Fleet Ernest J. King. U.S. Navy at War, 1941-1945: Official Reports to the Secretary of the Navy. Washington: United States Navy Department, 1946, 49-63; Sicily landings, King, 86-87; Tarawa landings, King, 70-72; and improvements to doctrine, Millet, 87-95. 8

The Western Naval Task Force

The Western Naval Task Force was responsible for bringing the U.S. First Army to the Omaha and Utah beaches on D-Day and for bringing supplies and reinforcements to them in the days following the invasion. They worked alongside the Eastern Naval Task Force, which had responsibility for the British and Canadian beaches of Gold, Juno, and Sword. The Western Naval Task Force was commanded by Rear Admiral Alan G. Kirk of the United States Navy. The task force was divided into three naval forces, codenamed Force O, Force U, and Force B. Force O was responsible for Omaha Beach. Force U was responsible for . Force B was the reinforcement force for Omaha Beach, bringing in the remainder of the 1st and 29th Divisions not landed by Force O. The ships and men of these three forces came from the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, Royal Navy, , and other Allied navies.5

Western Naval Task Force (Rear Admiral Allan G. Kirk, USN) • Force U (Rear Admiral Don P. Moon, USN) o Group o Beach Green Assault Group (landed on Tare Green Beach) o Beach Red Assault Group (landed on Uncle Red Beach) o Escort Group o Bombardment Group o Far Shore Service Group o Shore Party • Force O (Rear Admiral John L. Hall, USN) o Minesweeper Group o Assault Group O-1 (Easy Red and Fox Green beaches) o Assault Group O-2 (Dog Green and Easy Green beaches) o Assault Group O-3 (Fox Green and Easy Red beaches) o Assault Group O-4 ( and Dog Green Beach) o Escort Group o Close Gunfire Support Group o Bombardment Group o Far Shore Service Group o Shore Party • Force B (Commodore C. D. Edgar, USN) o Convoy B-1 o Convoy B-2

5 Western Task Force at Normandy, Samuel Eliot Morison. The Invasion of France and : 1944-1945. Boston: Little, Brown and , 1957, 29. 9

o Convoy B-3 (arrived June 7) o Convoy B-4 o Mulberry A o Salvage and Firefighting Group 6 o Area Screen Each of the two assault forces were split up into several sub-forces. Some of these brought assault troops to the beaches, while others provided support. Both forces had additional groups to protect the force from ships of the German , bombardment groups to provide a shore bombardment of the beaches to help the assault troops, a service group with repair, fueling, and rescue vessels, and a shore party with an Engineer Special Brigade.7

Soldiers exit an LCVP landing craft on D-Day Army Signal Corps Photo. Courtesy Stolly.org.uk.

6 Western Task Force order of battle, Morison, 333-337.

7 Western Task Force task allocation, Morison, 333-337. 10

The Engineer Special Brigade

In a report submitted to Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal in March 1945, Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King wrote that

“the success of our amphibious operations in North Africa, Sicily and had demonstrated that, given air and sea superiority, there would be small doubt of our initial success, even against so strongly fortified a coast as northern France. The critical factor was whether, having seized a beachhead, we would be able to supply and reinforce it sufficiently fast to build an army larger than that which the enemy was certain to concentrate against ours.”8

To ensure that the U.S. Army was successful in winning the ‘battle of reinforcement,’ the Army created six Engineer Special Brigades (ESBs). These Engineer Special Brigades were specialized organizations which had all of the men and equipment needed to sweep away the debris left after a beach assault, organize the beachhead, and quickly bring supplies and reinforcements to the troops on the front lines. In fact, the ESB’s were given a list of twenty- seven specific duties they were responsible for performing in Normandy! The men of the ESBs were the shore party element of the amphibious team. The Navy brought reinforcements and supplies to the beach – the ESBs got them ashore to where they needed to go. The Army went to a great deal of effort to create the ESBs, because their mission was vital to the success of the invasion. For example, to train the port battalions which would unload ships off the beach, the Army built several ‘land ships’ – full size cargo vessels built at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania (which is landlocked), on which the port battalion soldiers could master their art. Each ESB had several different types of units, each with a particular specialty:

Engineer Special Brigade • Headquarters and Headquarters Company • 2x Engineer Shore (each with 3x Engineer Shore Battalions) • Amphibian Truck Battalion • 4x Quartermaster Battalions • 2x Ordinance Battalions • Medical Battalion

8 “The success of our,” King, 135. 11

• 3x Port Battalions9

The headquarters provided for the administration and command of the brigade. The engineer shore regiments cleared debris from the beach and created roads. Naval beach battalion sailors coordinated the movements of ships to and from the beach. Port battalion soldiers transferred supplies from ships to trucks for transportation. The Amphibian truck battalion and quartermaster battalions transported the supplies and reinforcements to their destinations. The ordinance battalions ensured that the vehicles and equipment used by the brigade were repaired and maintained. The ESB also included a number of small specialized companies and – firefighting platoons, a gasoline supply company, a mapping section, and other soldiers and sailors whose skills allowed the ESB to complete their mission successfully. The italicized units in the list above will be discussed in this guide.10

The first Engineer Special Brigades were formed in . Eventually, there were six ESBs. Each ESB was about the size of a combat – the 1st ESB numbered 14,605 men in June 1944. The Americans were always planning several amphibious operations, so ESBs were in high demand, with brigades serving in , the Mediterranean, and the Pacific. Nevertheless, the Army deployed three ESBs to Normandy – the 1st ESB served on Utah Beach while the 5th and 6th ESBs worked on Omaha. The men of the Engineer Special Brigades were some of the unsung heroes of Normandy – without their hard work and dedication, the invasion would never have succeeded. The D-Day landings were an incredible achievement, but they were only the first step in a long road to Germany. When the Army reached the heart of the Third Reich in May 1945, they did so using vehicles, weapons, ammunition, gasoline, medical supplies, and food brought ashore by men of the Engineer Special Brigades.11

9 Establishment of the ESBs, Brigadier General William F. Heavey. Down Ramp!: The Story of the Army Amphibian Engineers. Washington: Infantry Journal Press, 1947, 1-9; ESB duties at Normandy, Engineer Headquarters, First U.S. Army. “Standard Operating Procedures, Engineer Special Brigades.” Appendix A, 3 February 1944. Record Group 407, National Archives, College Park, MD; ESB training, Heavey, 10-15; landships, Andrew Brozyna. Longshore Soldiers: Homefront, , Normandy, Antwerp, Life in a World War II Port Battalion. Longmont, CO: Apidae Press, 2010, 25-29; and ESB organization, Headquarters, 1st Engineer Special Brigade. “Troop List.” 4 October 1944. Record Group 407, National Archives, College Park, MD.

10 Operations, Heavey, 70-105.

11 Establishment, Heavey, 1-9; manpower stat, Headquarters, 1st Engineer Special Brigade. “History 1st Engineer Special Brigade for the Period 6 December 1943 to 1 November 1944.” 8 November 1944. Record Group 407, National Archives, College Park, MD, 3; and Normandy operations, Heavey, 70-105. 12

Landing Craft Flotilla

The landing craft which brought men and supplies ashore on D-Day were crewed by sailors and coastguardsmen of the Navy and Coast Guard. The invasion of Normandy was the largest seaborne invasion in history. After months of planning, training, and hard work from hundreds of thousands of Allied military men and women, the fate of D-Day was in the hands of a few thousand brave landing craft crews. These men were expected to navigate through heavy surf, beach obstacles and enemy fire and bring their sacred cargo to the beach safely. The Navy and Coast Guard needed men who were up to the task. A Navy training manual stated that

“the men in ‘amphib’ are expected to master a broad field of nautical knowledge and become acquainted with the work usually done in several rates. The alert, curious sailor will find the task of manning the LCVP varied and stimulating. He will discover that seamanship, boat handling, some engineering, a knowledge of signaling and communications, gunnery, navigation, and weather lore are all fields in which he must have some knowledge. In a word, the capable boat crew member must be versatile…As one of the men who operate the LCVP or LCM(3) you have several broad responsibilities, regardless of whether you are , engineer, deckhand, or signalman. First, you are responsible for the safety of the boat and the lives of the crew and any men who may be aboard as passengers on a run to the beach. Second, it is important to do your share to make an amphibious operation succeed. Each such operation’s success is built upon the individual performance of many small boats -- yours among them. The safe discharge of many loads of cargo at the proper places, and quickly, is vital. Third, military duties aboard a transport must be done well, willingly, and with rapidity.”12

The United States developed many different kinds of amphibious vessels, from tiny landing craft to huge landing ships. Landing ships were large vessels which could sail across the sea. On their decks or suspended along the sides, they carried landing craft, which were small boats. Here are descriptions of the amphibious vessels used at Normandy:

• Landing Craft, Vehicle-Personnel – LCVP: Most LCVPs were manufactured by of , LA, leading to the nickname ‘Higgins boats.’ The vessel could carry 36 soldiers, or a one ton truck, or 8,100 pounds of cargo. The craft was 36

12 Normandy amphibious landings, . D-Day: The Battle for Normandy. New York: Penguin Books, 2009, 74-124; “the men in ‘amphib,’” Training and Operations Staff, Landing Craft School, Amphibious Training Base. Skill in the Surf: A Landing Boat Manual. February 1945, 18. 13

feet long, could sail at 36 mph, and was crewed by four men. Most men who landed in the first assault waves on D-Day reached the beach in Higgins Boats. LCVPs were carried aboard an LSI or an ship (AP).

• Landing Craft, Control – LCC: The LCCs were used as secondary control vessels on D- Day. They directed landing vessels carrying troops and cargo to the right beach, and communicated with beachmasters ashore to make sure that necessary supplies were landed at the right place. The boat was 56 feet long, could travel at 15 knots, and had a crew of twelve men. There were only eight at Normandy.

• Landing Craft, Support, Small – LCS(S): Support landing craft carried five machineguns. They were used to provide extra firepower to help pin down German defenders so they could not shoot at other landing craft or soldiers. These boats were 36 feet long, could sail at 16 mph, and were crewed by 6 men.

• Landing Craft, Mechanized, Mark III – LCM(3): Carried aboard LSTs, these vessels carried ashore on D-Day. They could carry 120 soldiers or 60,000 pounds of cargo instead of a . The craft was 50 feet long, traveled at 10 mph, and had a crew of four men. After LCVPs, LCMs were the most common type of landing vessel.

• Landing Craft, Tank, Mark V – LCT(5): At 108 feet long, LCT’s were big enough to sail across the on their own. Each boat could carry five tanks, could sail at 10 mph, and was crewed by 13 men.

• Landing Craft, Infantry, Large – LCI(L): The LCI was the largest type of landing craft, at 158 feet in length. The boat could carry 192 soldiers or 75 tons of cargo. Unlike other landing craft, LCIs did not have a ramp at the front – instead, soldiers disembarked using a staircase on either side of the boat’s bow (front). LCIs carried many soldiers to battle on D-Day, being used to bring soldiers ashore in the waves following the initial assault. The craft could sail at 17 knots and had a crew of 23 men.

• Landing Ship, Tank – LST: The LST, jokingly called a ‘Long Slow Target’ was a large amphibious vessel crewed by 111 men. The ship could carry 20 medium tanks, 39 light tanks, or 186 soldiers. Traveling at 11 knots, the ship could cross oceans and could sail right up to the beach like a landing craft. LSTs had two large doors at the vessel’s bow which could open to unload cargo directly onto the beach. The ships were vital to the success of the Normandy invasion, where they performed just about every mission asked of amphibious vessels, earning them the nickname ‘hero ships.’ They landed tanks, troops, and cargo, and then left the beach filled with wounded soldiers or German prisoners being evacuated to England.

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• Landing Ship, Infantry (LSI) and Attack Transport (AP): These were large ships, of various shapes and sizes. Many were former cruise liners, converted for military purposes. Along their sides hung LCVPs or other landing craft, ready to be lowered into the ocean. The ships could carry 1,500 or more soldiers. Most soldiers who landed on D- Day sailed for France aboard one of these vessels, only transferring to a landing craft a few miles from the shore.13

A line of LSTs unload vehicles onto Omaha Beach. The ‘barrage balloons’ tied to the ships provide protection from German airplanes. Photo Number 26-G-2517. Courtesy Naval History and Heritage Command

Crew size varied with the size of the vessel. LCVPs and LCMs had crews of only four men – a coxswain, an engineer, a signalman, and a deckhand. The coxswain was in command of

13 Types of landing craft and specifications, Headquarters of the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. Ship to Shore Movement: General Instructions for Transports, Cargo Vessels, and Landing Craft of Amphibious Forces, FTP 211. January 18, 1943, 2-4.

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the boat. He was in charge of inspecting the boat to make sure that it was seaworthy. During an operation, he was in command of the boat and steered the craft. If the boat was damaged, the coxswain directed the repair efforts of other crewmen. The engineer maintained and repaired the engine. The signalman used a blinker light or semaphore flags to send messages to other boats. He also kept a sharp eye out for messages being sent to his boat. The deckhand operated the ramp, and assisted the other crewmen as necessary. If a man was wounded or killed, another crewman was expected to take his place so that the operation could continue.14 LCTs and LCIs had larger crews. An LCI was crewed by two officers and twenty-one men. The boat’s commander was usually at least a lieutenant (j.g.). The executive officer (second-in-command) was usually an ensign. LCTs were crewed by one officer and twelve men. They were divided into a deck division and an engineering division. The engineering division maintained and repaired the boat’s engines and electrical systems. The division consisted of four men, one of which was a firefighter who served double duty as a medic. They were led by a motor machinist’s mate. The other men were in the deck division. These men included a ’s mate in charge of the deck, a quartermaster’s mate who steered the boat, a gunner and assistants for the boat’s 20mm gun, and a radio man.15

Because of their size, LSTs had even larger crews. The ship was commanded by a lieutenant, with a lieutenant (j.g.) as his executive officer. The ship’s crew was divided into six different divisions – two to man the deck, and communications, supply, ordinance, and engineering divisions. Each of the four ‘technical’ divisions was commanded by an ensign. The deck divisions were commanded by a lieutenant (j.g.), giving the ship a total of seven officers. The ordinance division crewed the ship’s anti-aircraft guns. The supply division’s sailors were mainly involved with preparing food for the ship’s crew. The engineering division cared for the ship’s engines and electrical systems. The communications division operated the ship’s radio and sonar equipment, performed administrative tasks, and had pharmacist’s mates to care for the sick or wounded. The two deck divisions (first and second) sailed the ship and performed any activities related to launching landing craft, operating the ship’s bow doors, etc.16

Landing craft were organized into flotillas of several dozen boats or ships. For example, LCI Flotilla 10 had thirty-six LCI’s at Normandy. A flotilla was broken up into two or more groups. Each group served a different sector of a beach (Dog Green, Dog White, etc. and landed a battalion of troops). Groups, in turn, were broken down into divisions or waves of landing craft, each of which landed a company of soldiers. Each wave of boats landed together, with other waves landing after earlier waves. For example, the first wave landed on the beach first.

14 LCVP and LCM crews, Training and Operations Staff, 18-21.

15 LCI crew, Headquarters of the Commander in Chief, 4; and LCT crew, Bureau of Personnel. Specifications for LCT Officer and Enlisted Billets. . 16 LST crews, Office of Naval Intelligence. “Allied Landing Craft and Ships,” ONI 226. 7 April 1944.

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After them came the second wave, then the third wave, and so on. Waves were supposed to land ten minutes apart.17

Landing craft sailed from England in convoys, each of which had several flotillas of landing craft. Each beach had a control vessel and two secondary control vessels. The control vessels led the convoys to Transport Areas (about ten miles from the beach) where landing craft (including their crews) were lowered from the ship which carried them across the English Channel. The boats sailed to a Rendezvous Area, where they circled while the rest of the landing craft were lowered to the water. Once all of the boats were in the water, they sailed back to the transport to load their cargo. Nets were thrown over the sides of the ship, which were pulled tight by crewmen in the landing craft below. Soldiers carefully climbed down the net to the waiting landing craft. This was a frightening ordeal, because the boats rose and dipped in the water with each wave, making them difficult to climb into. The soldiers also had to be careful not to lose their grip on the net or get slammed into the side of the ship as it rocked in the waves. Once the men were in the landing craft, the loaded boat sped off and was replaced with a new one. When all of the landing craft were loaded, the beach’s control vessel led the craft to their beach’s Line of Departure. The landing boats got organized into the waves they were assigned to, and then they sailed for the Line of Transfer. Once they reach the Line of Transfer, the control vessel wished the landing craft crews good luck and sent them on their way.18

The crews sailed for the beach, keeping a sharp look out for signals from other boats and for obstacles or mines in the water. Once they neared the beach, the crews tried to spot landmarks on the shore which would tell them where they were. Church steeples and towns were the most useful landmarks. The tried to stay in line with the other boats, and tried to keep fifty yards of distance between their boat and their neighbors. As they approached the surf just off the beach, the coxswain tried to position his craft directly behind the crest of a wave, which would help to raise the bow of the landing craft over any shallow areas of water. If he was unsuccessful, the landing craft would ‘broach’ or become stuck in the surf instead of making it to the shore. When the landing craft reached its destination, the deckhand lowered the ramp, and the soldiers or vehicles exited the boat. The coxswain reversed the engine and the boat retreated off of the beach.19

After this first trip to the beach, the crew’s job was not over. They still had to make other trips to bring supplies to the beach. Boats returned to a transport, where they were loaded with supplies – ammunition, food, medical supplies, etc. Then the craft sailed for a secondary control vessel near the beach. The coxswain gave the officer aboard the control vessel the cargo ticket he

17 LCI Flotilla 10 at Normandy, John France. “LCI 93, LCI 487 Normandy.” USS Landing Craft, Infantry National Association. Undated, 5; landing craft organization, Headquarters of the Commander in Chief, 12.

18 Convoys, Morison, 77; control vessels, Headquarters Commander in Chief, 16-17; and landing operations, Training and Operations Staff, 69-75. 19 The run to the beach, Training and Operations Staff, 71-73.

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received from the transport, which told the officer what kind of supplies he had aboard his boat. The landing craft then circled off the beach near the control vessel until a beachmaster ashore told the control vessel where to direct the boat. The landing craft sailed for the beach he was told to go to, looking for signs along the beach which told him where the supply dump for his particular type of supplies was located.20

What was my soldier’s job?

This is a list of the different ranks of sailors aboard landing vessels, along the job their rating performed. You should be able to figure out what each soldier’s approximate job was based on his rating and rank. For example, machinist’s mates maintained engines aboard ships. If your sailor was a Chief Machinist’s Mate (CMM), then he probably commanded the ratings in the vessel’s engineering division. If he was a Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class (MM3), then he worked on the engines, and reported to the CMM. More senior men supervised lower-ranking sailors.

Lieutenant: Commanded a landing craft or ship Lieutenant (j.g.): Commanded a landing craft or executive officer of LST Ensign: Commanded LCT, or LCI executive officer, or LST division commander Baker: BKR — produced baked goods for the ship’s crew Boatswain’s Mate: BM — knew naval piloting and navigation. Could be coxswain of a boat Commissaryman: CS — served food aboard ship Cook: C — cooked food for the crew Electrician’s Mate: EM — maintained and repaired electrical systems Fire Controlman: FC — directed the fire of the ship’s guns Fireman: F — put out fires aboard ship and worked as a medic Gunner’s Mate: GM — aimed and fired ship’s guns. Maintained and repaired weapons Machinist’s Mate: MM — maintained and repaired engines Pharmacist’s Mate: PhM — medical personnel aboard ship Quartermaster: QM — navigated and steered the boat or ship. Maintained maps Radarman: RdM — operated the ship’s radar set Radioman: RM — operated the ship’s radio Seaman: S — enlisted man with no technical rating. Performed non-technical work Shipfitter: SF — makes repairs to the ship’s hull or structural components Storekeeper: SK — procures supplies, stocks them, and distributes them as necessary Signalman: SM — sent messages by lamp or using flags. Served as a lookout too Water Tender: WT — looked after the ship’s boilers and boiler fires : Y — performed clerical duties21

20 Cargo operations, Training and Operations Staff, 74-75. 21 Jobs, Office of Naval Intelligence and Bureau of Personnel; description of ratings, USS Enterprise CV-6: The Most Decorated Ship of the Second World War. “ALL HANDS – Rates, Divisions, & Pay Scales.” http://www.cv6.org/company/muster/organization.htm. 18

Naval Combat Demolition Unit

Naval Combat Demolition Units (NCDUs) were specialized engineer units created by the Navy in 1943. NCDU sailors were handpicked men who volunteered for the hazardous duty of mapping beaches and destroying beach obstacles to support amphibious invasions. Men went through a rigorous training program at Fort Pierce, Florida, during which they were trained by U.S. Army Ranger instructors. Today’s Navy SEALs are direct descendents of WWII’s NCDU men.22

On D-Day, NCDU sailors and Army engineers teamed up to form Gap Assault Teams. These teams were tasked with using to blow sixteen gaps through beach obstacles on Omaha Beach and another eight on Utah Beach. In theory, the Army engineers were responsible for destroying obstacles above the water line and the NCDU men were responsible for those in the water. In reality, the men worked together to clear gaps on the beach. Twenty-seven NCDUs, each with forty men, were assigned to the operation. They were divided up into three groups and temporarily attached to the three Naval Beach Battalions being used in the D-Day assault. D-Day was the first combat assignment for the Naval Combat Demolition Units – these untried men of the NCDUs were given a vital mission and were asked to carry out that mission, whatever the cost.23

The obstacles on the beaches were quite formidable. Samuel Eliot Morison, the official Navy historian, noted that at Omaha Beach “the Germans had provided the best imitation of hell for an invading force that American troops had encountered anywhere. Even the Japanese defenses of , Tarawa, and Peleliu are not to be compared with these.” There were three layers of obstacles on the beaches. The first was a line of ‘Belgian Gates’ – seven foot tall, ten foot wide structures with mines attached to them. The next line of obstacles were sharpened wooden poles (like telephone poles), about one-third of which were mined. The last line of defenses was composed of metal ‘hedgehogs’ – made of three six-foot-long beams welded to each other at right angles. There were also steel rails and wooden ramps on the beach, all of which were mined. The obstacles were designed to destroy landing craft – by blowing them up with mines or by ripping open a boat’s hull. The obstacles were placed so that they would be just at the waterline at high tide, where they would be almost impossible to spot. When the Americans landed on D-Day (at low tide) most of the obstacles were exposed and were less of a danger to landing craft – but were still a serious obstacle to vehicles trying to move off the beach. Past the obstacles there was a low sea wall – this was the only protected spot on the

22 NCDUs in WWII, Chet Cunningham. The Frogmen of World War II: An Oral History of the U.S. Navy’s Units. New York: Pocket Books, 2005, 33-119.

23 NCDUs on D-Day, Lt. (j.g.) H. L. Blackwell, Jr. “Report on Naval Combat Demolition Units in Operation ‘NEPTUNE’ as part of Task Force 122.” 5 July 1944. Navy Department Library. 19

beach. Past the sea wall, there was a belt of mine fields, then concrete bunkers atop the cliffs at the top of the beach.24

German sketch of beach defenses on D-Day The Invasion of France and Germany: 1944-1945, page 140-141 inset.

On D-Day morning, NCDU sailors became the first Americans onto the beaches, arriving several minutes before the infantry. The sailors quickly moved on to the beaches, blowing up obstacles using the Hagensen pack, a canvas bag packed with two pounds of explosives. The Hagensen pack packed enough punch to destroy small obstacles and several Hagensen packs could be linked together to destroy large obstacles. Seventy-one sailors were killed, wounded, or missing on D-Day, yet the men succeeded in clearing thirteen of sixteen gaps on Omaha, and all four gaps on Utah. The official report of NCDU activities at Normandy stated that on Omaha Beach

“despite the casualties, surviving units continued working, with general disregard for personal safety. A notable example of courage was given by men who voluntarily placed charges on Tellermines atop obstacles, 10 or 12 feet above the

24 “The Germans had provided,” Morison, 115; and beach defenses, Morison, 111-114.

20

beach, in the face of accurate and machine-gun fire, they climbed on each others shoulders and or shinnied up the pilings and ramps.”25

Each Naval Combat Demolition Unit consisted of forty men. The NCDU had three teams, each of thirteen men. The teams were coordinated by a commanding officer. The commander was usually a lieutenant (j.g.) or an ensign, but some NCDUs were commanded by chief petty officers or warrant officers. The thirteen-man teams in an NCDU were usually commanded by a chief petty officer or a petty officer 1st class. In addition to knowledge of mapping, explosives, and small-boat handling, each man had another specialty – usually photography, engineering, medicine, or communications. Each NCDU carried a unique number, e.g. NCDU 11, NCDU 24, etc. After D-Day, the NCDUs left Normandy and were transferred to the Mediterranean, to prepare for the landings of , the amphibious invasion of (, 1944).26

What was my soldier’s job?

This is a list of the different ranks of sailors in an NCDU, along the job their rating performed. You should be able to figure out what each soldier’s approximate job was based on his rating and rank. More senior men supervised lower-ranking sailors. For more ratings, see the Landing Craft Flotilla section.

Lieutenant: Commanded the NCDU Lieutenant (j.g.): Commanded the NCDU Ensign: Commanded the NCDU Carpenter: Commanded the NCDU (Note: this man was a warrant officer) Gunner’s Mate: GM — aimed and fired ship’s guns. Maintained and repaired weapons Machinist’s Mate: MM — maintained and repaired engines Pharmacist’s Mate: PhM — medical personnel aboard ship Photographer’s Mate: PhoM — took pictures Radioman: RM — operated the ship’s radio Yeoman: Y — performed clerical duties27

25 D-Day activities, Commander, Blackwell; and “despite the casualties,” Section II.

26 Organization, Blackwell, Appendix 1 to Annex A; and NCDU ratings, Blackwell, Appendix 1 to Annex 2 and Commander, Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet. “Transport Doctrine, Amphibious Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet.” 18 . 27 Jobs, Commander, Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet. 21

Naval Beach Battalion

The job of the Naval Beach Battalion (NBB) was to create order out of chaos. The beach battalion’s mission was to organize the beachhead so that it ran as efficiently as possible. In other words, their job was to take a stretch of beach and turn it into a port. A Navy manual stated that “every effort must be made to increase the amount of work that each individual boat performs. The beach party is the agency, on the beach, to carry this out. It is its mission to reduce the time it is necessary for a boat to be on the beach. All duties of the beach party, with the exception of the evacuation of wounded, directly or indirectly contribute to this.” The sailors landed on D- Day, alongside NCDU demolition men, infantrymen, and tank crews, though their job was not to fight. The three naval beach battalions which served in Normandy were each attached to an Army Engineer Special Brigade (ESB). One battalion worked Utah Beach while the other two each had responsibility for half of Omaha.28

Each NBB had three companies of sailors. Each company had three naval platoons. The battalion was commanded by a commander, with a lieutenant commander as executive officer:

Naval Beach Battalion • 3x Naval Beach Companies 29 o 3x Naval Beach Party Platoons (each 3 officers, 43 men) Each beach party was assigned to a particular sector of beach – Dog Green, Dog White, etc. The beach party was responsible for getting that sector up and running, with work starting as soon as the men hit the beach. Beach parties were divided into five sections: command, hydrographic, boat repair, communication, and medical. The highest-ranking officer in the beach party acted as the beachmaster. The beachmaster was responsible for the movement and unloading of vessels within his section of the beach. Here is the breakdown of a beach party:

1. “Command section.-- Two commissioned line officers--senior will be designated beachmaster. One medical officer. One chief boatswain's mate, assistant to the beachmaster.

2. Hydrographic section.-- One boatswain's mate, first or second class, in charge of section.

28 Naval Beach Battalion mission, Headquarters, Commander in Chief, 19; “every effort must be made,” Headquarters, Commander in Chief, 19; D-Day landing, U.S. 6th Naval Beach Battalion. “Restricted.” Accessed December 18, 2011. http://www.6thbeachbattalion.org/restricted.html; attached to ESBs, Headquarters, 1st Engineer Special Brigade, 4; and beach assignments, Heavey, 70-71.

29 Organization, Headquarters, Commander in Chief, 20, and Ensign W. N. Turner. “Beach Party – 1943.” U.S. 6th Naval Beach Battalion. Accessed December 18, 2011. http://www.6thbeachbattalion.org/usn-beach-party.html. 22

One boatswain's mate, second or coxswain, assistant in charge of section. Eight seamen, first class: Various duties including emergency boat crews. Eight seamen, second class: Various duties including emergency boat crews.

3. Boat repair section.-- Two carpenter's mates, first class, in charge and assistant. One shipfitter, first class, repair boats. Two motor machinist's mates, first class, repair boats. On electrician's mate, third class, repair boats. One fireman, first class: Assist repair boats and enginemen for emergency crews. One fireman, second class: Assist repair boats and enginemen for emergency crews.

4. Communication section.-- One signalman, second class, in charge; men beach signal light. Two signalmen, third class; one man beach signal flags; one with beachmaster. One radioman, second class, man beach radio. Four radiomen, third class, three man beach radio; one man portable radio with beachmaster.

5. Medical section.-- One pharmacist's mate, first class, in charge evacuation station. One pharmacist's mate, second class, assist in charge evacuation station. Six hospital apprentices, first or second class, evacuation station.”30

The men of the command section were in charge of the beach party and supervised the other sailors. The hydrographic section surveyed and marked areas where it was safe for boats to beach. They also cleared obstructions from the boat landing areas and helped boats avoid getting beached. The boat repair section repaired damaged landing craft. The communication section sent messages to boats and ships offshore and to other sectors of the beach. The section used radios, blinker lights, and semaphore flags. The medical section cared for wounded men on the beach.31

The sailors worked alongside the other men in the amphibious team to bring supplies and reinforcements to the beachhead as soon as possible. As soon as the beach was captured, Army engineers assigned to the beach’s Engineer Special Brigade worked with NCDU sailors to clear the remaining obstacles from the beach. This was a laborious process, since the beach was heavily fortified. By the end of D-Day, 40% of obstacles had been cleared from the beaches. The beaches were 85% cleared two days after the invasion. In the meantime, the NBB sailors began organizing the beaches. The beachmaster and communication section set up a command post on the beach while the hydrographic section scouted out good places along the beach to bring in

30 Beachmaster responsibilities, Headquarters, Commander in Chief, 20-21; and “Command Section --,” Headquarters, Commander in Chief, 20.

31 Responsibilities, Headquarters, Commander in Chief, 19-23. 23

landing craft. A good landing spot was free of sand bars and other areas of shallow water, and did not have rocks along the shore.32

Quartermaster soldiers established supply depots off the beach, where supplies were deposited after being unloaded from a ship. Beach parties marked the locations of these depots using flags on the beach which could be seen from the sea. Each supply depot was reserved for a particular type of supplies – gasoline, rations, ammunition, etc. Sailors also placed a flag at each end of the beach and another in the center to identify the beach (Dog Green, etc.). Beach flags and supply dump flags were color coded so that boat and ship crews could easily identify them – green beach’s flags were green, red beach’s were red, etc. At night, colored lights were used instead of flags.33

D Plus Seven, Dwight Shepler, June 13, 1944 Courtesy Naval History and Heritage Command Art Collection

Each beach had a Naval Officer in Charge (NOIC) who was the top Navy man on the beach – Utah had one NOIC, Omaha had two (one for the western half and one for the eastern half). Each day, conferences were held between the NOIC and other naval officers, officers of the Engineer Special Brigade on that area of the beach, and the Army units being supplied by that beach. These officers set the unloading priorities for the next day. Boats and ships could not be unloaded as quickly as they arrived off of the beach, so the Army officers had to decide what kinds of supplies should get priority each day – gasoline, ammunition, medical supplies, etc.34

32 Obstacle clearance and statistics, Blackwell, Section II; and tasks, Headquarters, Commander in Chief, 20-22.

33 Beach markers, Headquarters, Commander in Chief, 79-82.

34 NOICs and joint conferences, Historical Section, COMNAVEU. Administrative History of U.S. Naval Forces Europe, 1940-1946. London: COMNAVEU, 1946, 574-575. 24

When a transport arrived off of the beach, the ship waited in the Transport Area several miles off the beach while the ship’s captain contacted the beach’s Ferry Control Officer (FCO). The Ferry Control Officer was responsible for organizing and keeping track of the transports waiting to unload on the beach. The ship told the FCO what kind of supplies they had on board and the FCO decided if they should get priority to unload on the beach, or if they should wait. If a vessel was directed to unload on a beach, that section’s beachmaster contacted the vessel with approach and beaching instructions. The beachmaster acted as ‘traffic cop,’ ensuring that vessels approached, beached, and departed in a safe and orderly manner. Some vessels were unloaded on the beach, while others were unloaded off the beach. Port battalion soldiers unloaded the ship’s cargo onto a ‘Rhino Ferry’ for transportation to the beach. Once the supplies reached the beach, they were loaded into trucks where they were driven to a supply depot off the beach.35

Landing point panels and lights Skill in the Surf, page 75

The beach battalions were very successful at Normandy. The Navy’s report on Operation Neptune stated that the NBBs performed in a “truly remarkable” manner. Colonel William Bridges of the 5th ESB stated that despite the heavy fire and shelling by German mortars, the 6th Naval Beach Battalion “contributed materially to the successful establishment of the Omaha beachhead. This battalion not only performed its own missions, but aided many other units in the

35 FCOs, Historical Section, COMNAVEU, 576-577; and beachmaster duties, Headquarters, Commander in Chief, 20-21. 25

accomplishment of theirs. But for this aid, the precarious situation of the units on the beach might have been turned into disaster.” By late June the NBBs had been so successful at organizing functional port facilities that had worked themselves out of a job. Facilities were well established on the beaches and the supply organization was running like a well-oiled machine. The Naval Beach Battalions left Normandy in late June, to prepare for other amphibious operations on distant shores.36

Naval beach battalions each carried unique numbers. Companies were lettered A, B, and C. Platoons were labeled with the company’s letter followed by a number. The numbers were sequential throughout the battalion. So Company A had platoons A-1, A-2, and A-3, Company B had platoons B-4, B-5, and B-6 and Company C had platoons C-7, C-8, and C-9.37

What was my soldier’s job?

This is a list of the different ranks of sailors in the battalion, along the job their rating performed. You should be able to figure out what each soldier’s approximate job was based on his rating and rank. More senior men supervised lower-ranking sailors. For more ratings, see the Landing Craft Flotilla section.

Commander Commanded the battalion Lieutenant Commander Executive officer of the battalion Lieutenant: Staff officer or commander of a company Lieutenant (j.g.): Company commander or beach party commander Ensign: Beach party commander, executive officer, or communication officer Boatswain’s Mate: BM — knew naval piloting and navigation. Could be coxswain of a boat Carpenter’s Mate: CM — repaired damaged boats Electrician’s Mate: EM — maintained and repaired electrical systems Fireman: F — put out fires Machinist’s Mate: MM — maintained and repaired engines Pharmacist’s Mate: PhM — medical personnel aboard ship Radioman: RM — operated the ship’s radio Seaman: S — enlisted man with no technical rating. Performed non-technical work Shipfitter: SF — makes repairs to the ship’s hull or structural components Signalman: SM — sent messages by lamp or using flags. Served as a lookout too Yeoman: Y — performed clerical duties 38

36 “Truly remarkable,” Historical Section, COMNAVEU, 572; and “contributed materially,” Colonel William Bridges quoted in U.S. 6th Naval Beach Battalion. “U.S. 6th Naval Beach Battalion.” Accessed December 18, 2011. http://www.6thbeachbattalion.org/index.html; relieved by late June, Historical Section, COMNAVEU, 574.

37 Nomenclature, Ensign W. N. Turner. “Beach Party – 1943.” U.S. 6th Naval Beach Battalion. Accessed December 18, 2011. http://www.6thbeachbattalion.org/usn-beach-party.html.

38 Jobs, Headquarters, Commander in Chief, 24. 26

Naval Construction Battalion

Naval Construction Battalions (NCBs) were the engineer troops of the Navy. Construction battalion sailors or ‘’ gained a reputation for completing almost impossible feats of engineering at dizzying speeds. They are most famous for their work in the Pacific, where Seabees hacked away jungle and undergrowth to create airfields for Navy and Marine pilots, almost overnight. In Normandy, the Seabees played a very important, but little known role. ingenuity and hard work made a major contribution to the supply effort on the beaches. The Seabees performed several missions in Normandy: Some units operated Rhino ferries to bring vehicles to the beach, some installed port facilities off the beaches, while others built tent camps to house sailors working on the beach.39

All Seabee operations were performed by the 25th Naval Construction (NCR), a unit specifically created to conduct port operations at Normandy. The work of setting up and running the port facilities on the beaches was divided up among the 25th NCR’s five battalions and one detachment:

• 28th NCB – Repair of captured ports • 81st NCB – Rhino ferry operations at Utah Beach • 108th NCB – Installation and operation of the Mulberry port • 111th NCB – Rhino ferry operations at Omaha Beach • 146th NCB – Installation of Petroleum, Oil, and Lubricants (POL) facilities at Omaha Beach • 1006th NCD – Installation and operation of causeways at Utah and Omaha beaches40

Each NCB numbered between 800-1000 men. The battalion had a headquarters company and three construction companies. Each construction company was divided into six platoons, each with about forty men. There was a maintenance and operations , two construction platoons, and road blasting and excavation, waterfront, and tanks, steel & pipes platoons. Each company numbered about 230 men:

Naval Construction Battalion (NCB) • Headquarters Company (14 officers, 134 men) • 3x Construction Companies (each 4 officers, 226 men) o Maintenance and Operations Platoon (3 officers, 36 men)

39 Seabee operations in World War II, William Bradford Huie. Can Do!: The Story of the Seabees. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1997; and Seabee operations in Normandy, Bureau of Yards and Docks. Building the Navy’s Bases in World War II: History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the , 1940-1946. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1947, 95-120.

40 Normandy missions, Bureau of Yards and Docks, 109. 27

o 2x Construction Platoons (one has 1 officer and 38 men, the other 39 men) o Road Blasting and Excavation Platoon (38 men) o Waterfront Platoon (38 men) 41 o Tanks, Steel & Pipe Platoon (38 men) The battalion was commanded by a lieutenant commander, with a lieutenant as his executive officer. Companies were commanded by a lieutenant, with a lieutenant (j.g.) as executive officer. One of the construction platoons was commanded by a carpenter (who was a warrant officer); the other five platoons were commanded by chief petty officers. Each platoon had a specialized role which they performed during construction projects. The battalions serving as Rhino ferry crews were given specialized training so that all men were competent crewmen.42

Two Seabee battalions operated Rhino ferries off the Utah and Omaha beaches. Rhino ferries were made by the Seabees for D-Day. The sailors took several pontoon sections and welded them together. Then they installed a ramp at the bow of the craft and two motors at the back. They were big, ugly, slow, and unwieldy, but they got the job done. A Rhino’s flat deck could carry thirty or forty vehicles to shore. Rhinos were barely seaworthy and were usually towed by a tug boat. During the crossing of the English Channel, one Seabee jokingly shouted across the water to the bridge of the USS Tuscaloosa and asked them “how’ll you trade your tub for this ship – about even?” The Rhinos performed excellent service at Normandy. They were designed so that the stern (back) of the Rhino could connect to an LST’s bow while they were at sea. The LST could then open its bow doors and unload its cargo onto the Rhino’s deck. The Rhino would then take the load of vehicles to shore and return for another load from a full LST. Until June 13, when LSTs were successfully unloaded directly onto the beach, Rhino ferries provided the only way to bring an LST’s cargo ashore. In the first ten days of the invasion, the ferries brought over 21,000 vehicles ashore at Omaha and Utah. After June 13, Rhino crews docked alongside large cargo vessels, where cargo was loaded onto the ferry using cranes so that the Rhino could bring it to the beach for unloading.43

While some Seabees crewed Rhino ferries, other sailors built port facilities off the beaches. The Navy planned to build three artificial harbors at Utah and Omaha. A large ‘Mulberry’ harbor would be built off of Omaha Beach. Two smaller ‘Gooseberry’ harbors were also built – one at Utah and another at Omaha. Work on the harbors started on June 7. Block ships and concrete structures called ‘Phoenixes’ were towed across the channel and sunk off of

41 Organization, United States Marine Corps. Naval Construction Battalion, Engineer Regiment. Marine Corps Table of Organization E-43, 15 April 1943.

42 Ranks, United States Marine Corps; and barge training, Bureau of Yards and Docks, 110.

43 Rhino ferry design, Bureau of Yards and Docks, 102-103; “how’ll you trade,” unnamed Seabee quoted in Morison, 86; LST unload on the beach, Bureau of Yards and Docks, 117; 21,000 vehicles unloaded, Bureau of Yards and Docks, 117; and unloading Liberty Ships, Bureau of Yards and Docks, 117. 28

the beaches, to form a breakwater. Once these were in place, the Seabees began building causeways from the beach out into the breakwater area created by the block ships and Phoenixes. The Seabees found that the waters off of Omaha Beach were deeper than they had been told, so they redesigned Omaha’s causeways and Mulberry on the spot to compensate for the difference. These 1,400+ foot long pier-like structures provided a place where vessels could dock to unload their cargo. Two causeways were built at each Gooseberry. Landing craft could dock and unload soldiers or vehicles at the Gooseberry causeways – LSTs had to unload at the Mulberry, or directly onto the beach. The first causeway was opened on June 8 and by June 16, all four were open. The Mulberry at Omaha Beach was completed on June 16 as well. These facilities were very successful – within hours of the first Gooseberry causeway’s opening, several thousand soldiers had used it to land on Utah Beach.44

Seabees also built several tent camps to house the sailors working on the beachhead. This included the crews of landing craft, the men of the Naval Beach Battalions, and the Seabees themselves. Work was delayed on the camps for several days following the invasion, because obstacles and land mines had not been cleared from the areas where the Seabee planned to build their camps. At Omaha, the original camp built by the sailors was found unsuitable, because it was exposed to German bombing attacks. So Seabees built two more camps near Omaha, which were completed in July and in August. Until sailors could be moved to a tent camp, they were housed in Liberty Ships or old transport ships just offshore.45

Just when American port facilities were fully operational, nature decided to disrupt Seabee plans. A great storm howled through Normandy from June 19-22. Port operations by vessels other than LSTs had to be suspended and men working on the causeways had to be evacuated to the beach. Under the pressure of the strong waves and driving winds, block ships and causeway sections broke loose from their moorings and landing vessels were pushed onto the beach. When the storm ended on June 23, Omaha Beach was one again a picture of destruction. Over two hundred landing craft littered the beach. The Mulberry harbor was wrecked. The storm had even shifted the sea bed beneath the causeways, leading them to sink two to three feet. Seabees began surveying the damage and salvaging what they could. Some landing craft were repaired and returned to duty – others were discarded. Debris was swept away. Repairs were made to the Gooseberries, which were also reinforced with more block ships. The Mulberry was a total loss and was abandoned. Even faced with this disaster, the Seabees found a way to overcome the obstacles in their path and succeed.46

44 Gooseberries, causeways, and the Mulberry, Bureau of Yards and Docks, 113-117.

45 Tent camps, Bureau of Yards and Docks, 117-118; and sailors housed aboard ship, Historical Section, COMNAVEU, 579.

46 The great storm, Bureau of Yards and Docks, 114-117. 29

What was my soldier’s job?

This is a list of the different ranks of sailors in the battalion, along with the job their rating performed. You should be able to figure out what each soldier’s approximate job was based on his rating and rank. More senior men supervised lower-ranking sailors.

Lieutenant Commander: Commanded the battalion Lieutenant: Commanded a company or executive officer of the battalion Lieutenant (j.g.): Executive officer of a company Ensign: Executive officer of a company Baker: BKR — produced baked goods for the ship’s crew Boatswain’s Mate: BM — knew naval piloting and navigation. Could be coxswain of a boat Carpenter’s Mate: CM — built and repaired structures Commissaryman: CS — served food aboard ship Cook: C — cooked food for the crew Electrician’s Mate: EM — maintained and repaired electrical systems Fireman: F — put out fires aboard ship and worked as a medic Gunner’s Mate: GM — aimed and fired ship’s guns. Maintained and repaired weapons Machinist’s Mate: MM — maintained and repaired engines Metalsmith: M — works with metal, tests for watertightness Painter: Ptr — painted equipment Pharmacist’s Mate: PhM — medical personnel aboard ship Photographer’s Mate: PhoM — took pictures Quartermaster: QM — navigated and steered the boat or ship. Maintained maps Seaman: S — enlisted man with no technical rating. Performed non-technical work Shipfitter: SF — makes repairs to the ship’s hull or structural components Signalman: SM — sent messages by lamp or using flags. Served as a lookout too Storekeeper: SK — procures supplies, stocks them, and distributes them as necessary Water Tender: WT — looked after the ship’s boilers and boiler fires Yeoman: Y — performed clerical duties47

Naval Amphibious Forces uniform patch

47 Jobs, United States Marine Corps 30

Port Battalion

Once a cargo vessel was safely docked at a causeway, the beach, or the Mulberry, the ship was unloaded by Army port battalion soldiers. The soldiers had an unglamorous but vital task: To be the last link in the chain between the cargo ships offshore and the Army off the beach. If port battalion men could not unload the supplies and equipment needed by the fighting soldiers as quickly as possible, all of the bravery and sacrifices of the fighting men would be for nothing, because the soldiers could not fight without weapons, ammunition, and other supplies. The port battalions performed their cargo unloading task on the beaches of Normandy, and they performed it well.48

The first port battalions were created in 1942, the same year in which the Army created the engineer special brigades and began to prepare and execute its first amphibious operations of the war. They were part of the Transportation Corps, one of the technical corps within the Army Service Forces. By 1944, port battalions were performing their work all over the world – from the bustling port of Calcutta, India, to steaming jungle islands in the Pacific Ocean, to the shell- pocked of Anzio, Italy and Normandy, France.49

In many ways, the port battalions were the heart and soul of the engineer special brigades, though they were often treated as the orphans of the Army Service Forces. The Army went to great trouble to prepare them to efficiently handle cargo, but did not prepare them for the kinds of jobs they would perform in Normandy. For training purposes, the Army built full-size cargo vessels miles away from the ocean at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. Soldiers learned their trade on these ‘land ships,’ and gained practical experience working in ports in the United States. The men of the 519th Port Battalion, for example, broke cargo handling records when they worked at the port of Boston during the winter of 1943. Unfortunately, the Army only taught them how to unload cargo at ports – they did not train them in amphibious operations. Port battalion officers tried to convince the Army that their men should participate in the landing exercise held in the weeks before D-Day, with no success. Their experience at ports in the United States did them little good in Normandy because facilities on the beach were much more primitive than they were at a real port. Soldiers were often asked to transfer cargo to smaller vessels while at sea, something they had never done before. To make matters worse, the men often had inadequate equipment to do their jobs. Port units needed winches, cargo nets, ropes,

48 Port battalion mission, Headquarters, 519th Port Battalion, “Historical Data Report.” Undated. Record Group 407, National Archives, College Park, MD, 3.

49 Creation of the port battalions, Chester Wardlow. The Transportation Corps: Responsibilities, Organization, and Operations. Washington: Center of Military History, 1999, 54-54; and port battalion operations during WWII, Joseph Bykofsky and Harold Larson. The Transportation Corps: Operations Overseas. Washington: Center of Military History, 1990. 31

hooks, conveyers, and other pieces of specialized equipment to do their jobs. Men found that these essentials were in short supply when they got to Normandy.50

With characteristic American ingenuity and industry, the soldiers overcame these and other obstacles. The men used creative solutions to solve their equipment problems and to get the job done. Soldiers invented new types of hooks and ropes which were better suited for unloading cargo. They also figured out a way to use the towing winch on a truck to lift cargo out of a ship’s , to make up for the shortage of actual cargo winches. The men quickly became masters at transferring cargo to amphibious trucks, ferries, and landing craft off the beach. The port battalions in Normandy exceeded all of the performance predictions made for them before the invasion, despite working in less than ideal conditions.51

Port battalions generally had four port companies, but could have as many as six companies or as few as two. Each company was divided up into three platoons, each of which had three sections. The port sections did the actual unloading of ships. The headquarters units supervised their work and assigned the sections and platoons to ships for unloading, as needed. The service sections repaired and maintained the unit’s equipment:

Port Battalion (45 officers, 900 men) • 4x Port Companies (each 4 officers, 225 men) o HQ Section (1 officer, 14 men) o Service Section (16 men) o 3x Platoons (each 1 officer, 65 men) . 3x Sections (each 21 men)52

The port battalion was commanded by a major, with a captain as executive officer (second-in-command). Each port company was commanded by a 1st lieutenant, with a 1st sergeant as executive officer. Platoons were commanded by a 2nd lieutenant, with a staff sergeant as executive officer.53

50 Training, Brozyna. Longshore Soldiers, 17-34; land ships, Brozyna, Longshore Soldiers, 25-29; broke records at Boston, Headquarters, 519th Port Battalion, “Historical Data Report,” 2; not trained in amphibious operations and not allowed to participate in rehearsals, Headquarters, 519th Port Battalion, “Historical Data Report,” 1-2; transferred cargo at sea, Headquarters, 1st Engineer Special Brigade, “History,” 6; and shortages of equipment, Headquarters, 519th Port Battalion, “Historical Data Report,” 4.

51 Invented new materials and methods, Headquarters, 519th Port Battalion, “Historical Data Report,” 4; and exceeded expectations, Headquarters 1st Engineer Special Brigade. “Beach Operations Report,” undated, Record Group 407, National Archives, College Park, MD, 9.

52 Organization, Headquarters, 519th Port Battalion, “Historical Data Report,” 1 and Andrew Brozyna, “220th Port Company, 490th Port Battalion Roster.” Longshore Soldiers: A History of the US Army Port Companies in World War II. February 20, 2011. Accessed January 3, 2012. http://www.519thportbn.com/2011/02/229th-port-comapny- 490th-port-battalion.html.

53 Officers, Brozyna, “220th Port Company.” 32

Each section had twenty-one men, which were divided into a hatch team and a deck team. Sections were commanded by a sergeant, while the two teams were each led by a technician 4th class, who served as foreman. In addition to twelve longshoremen, the section had one signalman, a cargo checker, two winch operators, and two slingers. The hatch team worked aboard the ship which was being unloaded. They loaded cargo into nets, which were then hooked to ropes and swung over the side of the using a winch. If the ship was at sea, the net was carefully lowered into the cargo area of a DUKW amphibious truck, an LCT landing craft, or a Rhino ferry. The deck team unloaded the cargo from the net, using conveyors to move heavy crates and other large pieces of equipment. The truck or boat then brought the supplies ashore. After the first week of the invasion, ships could dock at a causeway where cargo would be unloaded, eliminating the need to move it to a landing boat or amphibious boat.54

Port battalion soldiers load cargo into a DUKW truck using a winch Army Signal Corps Photo 111-SC-293693. Courtesy National Archives.

Port battalion soldiers landed in Normandy soon after the beaches were captured. Port battalions were temporarily split up in England – each section, platoon, or company was assigned to a cargo vessel. When the unit arrived off the beachhead, the men unloaded their ship’s cargo onto , Rhino ferries, or LCTs for transportation to shore. The port battalion soldiers hitched a ride along with the cargo they had unloaded. Once they got to the beach, the men

54 Port section jobs, Headquarters, 519th Port Battalion, “Historical Data Report,” 1; and unload cargo into DUKW initially, Headquarters, 1st Engineer Special Brigade, “Beach Operations,” 6; and unload from causeways later on, Bureau of Docks and Yards, 114. 33

moved to a predetermined place on the beach where the battalion gathered. Sections were then reassigned to new vessels for unloading.55

This system of transporting cargo to smaller boats or amphibious trucks continued until the causeways and the Mulberry were built a week or so after the invasion. Once these were completed, vessels could dock at the causeway and the soldiers could unload cargo directly onto the dock, speeding up the unloading process. Port battalions worked day and night, seven days a week. Men worked twelve hour shifts. In the first month of operations at Normandy, the 519th Port Battalion unloaded over 36,000 tons of supplies from 107 ships.56

Each port battalion carried a unique number. Each port company also had a unique number, but a battalion’s companies were often lettered for simplicity. For example, the 519th Port Battalion consisted of the 279th, 303rd, 304th, and 305th Port Companies. For convenience, these were labeled companies A, B, C, and D, respectively.57

What was my soldier’s job?

This is a list of the different ranks of soldiers in the battalion, along with their most likely job. Doing further research should help determine exactly what job your soldier had in his unit.

Major: Commanded the battalion Captain: Executive officer of the battalion 1st Lieutenant: Commanded a port company or staff officer in the battalion 2nd Lieutenant: Commanded a platoon Master Sergeant: Senior NCO in the battalion 1st Sergeant: Senior NCO and executive officer in a port company Tech Sergeant: Commander of a service section or executive officer of a port company Staff Sergeant: Executive officer of a platoon Technician 3rd Class: Commander of a section or a service section Sergeant: Commander of a section Technician 4th Class: Hatch foreman or deck foreman Corporal: Winch operator, signalman, cargo checker, or slinger Technician 5th Class: Winch operator, signalman, cargo checker, or slinger PFC/Private: Longshoreman58

55 Initial beach landing plan, Headquarters, 519th Port Battalion, “Historical Data Report,” 3.

56 Causeways and Mulberry, Bureau of Docks and Yards, 114; work and unloading statistics, Headquarters, 519th Port Battalion, “Historical Data Report” appendix “Tonnage and Statistics.”

57 Nomenclature, Headquarters, 519th Port Battalion. “General Orders No. 1,” 9 August 1944. Record Group 407, National Archives, College Park, MD.

58 Jobs, Brozyna, Longshore Soldiers blog, February 20, 2011, Headquarters, 519th Port Battalion, “Historical Data Report, 1, and Headquarters, 519th Port Battalion, “General Orders No. 1.” 34

Quartermaster Battalion and Amphibian Truck Battalion

Quartermaster battalions, quartermaster companies, and amphibian truck battalions all shared the same mission: To bring supplies to the soldiers off the beaches. The quartermaster units were part of the Quartermaster Corps, one of the technical corps which belonged to the Army Service Forces. The amphibian truck companies and battalions were part of the Transportation Corps. These units will be treated together in this section. Simply put, quartermaster troops were responsible for finding out what supplies fighting troops needed and them getting them those supplies. They built and operated supply depots, transported supplies and troops, installed water and utility lines, and purchased items from local sellers for the Army’s use. The Quartermaster Corps operated a network of supply depots which followed American soldiers all over the world.59

An army needs many things to be able to fight. It needs tanks and trucks, but it also needs rations, bandages, tires, wrenches, rope, shoe laces – all kinds of supplies. The Quartermaster Corps needed to be able to estimate the amount and type of supplies each unit of soldiers would need, so the Army established ‘tables of organization and equipment’ for each type of unit. These tables listed the number and type of equipment the unit needed. That way, quartermaster soldiers knew what supplies they needed to send to which units, and how many of each item they needed. The Army divided supplies up into five different categories:

• Class I: Rations • Class II: Uniforms, vehicles, personal equipment (packs, gas masks, etc.) • Class III: Fuel and lubricants • Class IV: Spare parts and special equipment like bridging and construction materials • Class V: Ammunition60

After American soldiers landed and captured invasion beaches on D-Day, quartermaster soldiers began to establish supply depots in Normandy. Initially, these depots were located just off the beach, in places with wide open fields and access to roadways (and railroad lines, if possible). Each of these Army Quartermaster Depots stocked one of the five classes of supplies. As a minimum, each depot was responsible for maintaining enough supplies to keep an entire division fighting for one day. The quartermaster corps estimated that each soldier consumed the equivalent of four square feet of supplies every forty-five days, so a fourteen thousand soldier division needed a quarter mile square field full of supplies a day! Most supplies were stored

59 Missions, War Department. Quartermaster Operations, FM 10-5. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1941, 1.

60 Tables of organization and equipment, War Department, Quartermaster Operations, 20; and supply classes, War Department, Quartermaster Operations, 27-28.

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outdoors, but perishable or fragile supplies needed to be stored indoors, so the soldiers built warehouses at the depots too.61

As the Army advanced further into the Norman countryside, quartermaster soldiers built new supply Army Supply Depots. Within a few weeks of the invasion, each division was served by a chain of depots in Normandy. Supplies landed on the beach were deposited at large Intermediate Depots near the beach. The Intermediate Depots sent supplies to smaller Advance Depots further inland, which in turn sent supplies to Army Quartermaster Depots near the frontline. To keep the system running as smoothly as possible, the Army also established Regulating Stations which directed traffic and helped truck convoys avoid getting lost. As the front lines moved, Army Quartermaster Depots were expanded into Advance or Intermediate Depots and new Army Quartermaster Depots were established near the fighting soldiers. Troops at Army Quartermaster Depots sent supplies to the divisions they serviced, to be distributed by the division’s own quartermaster soldiers.62

Because the duties of the Quartermaster Corps were so varied, the Army created several different types of quartermaster companies. There were service companies, truck companies, salvage collecting companies, railhead companies, and other types of units. Several companies would be grouped together to form a quartermaster battalion. These quartermaster battalions built and manned the supply depots in Normandy. Each division also had its own quartermaster company, which distributed supplies to the units in the division.63

Quartermaster Battalion

Each type of company had a specialized job which they performed. Several companies were grouped together to form a battalion. The battalion’s companies could each be of one type, or the battalion might have several different types of companies. Quartermaster battalions generally had three companies. Here is a short description of the quartermaster companies used in Normandy:

• Service Company: The service companies built and ran supply depots. They were also responsible for finding out what supplies the units they supplied needed. The Quartermaster Corps stated that “supply systems should have continuity, flexibility, elasticity, mobility, and simplicity.” It was the job of the service troops to make that goal a reality.

61 Army Quartermaster Depots, War Department, Quartermaster Operations, 23; and supply statistics, War Department, Quartermaster Operations, 25.

62 Types of depots, War Department, Quartermaster Operations, 23-24.

63 Types of quartermaster companies and battalion organization, Headquarters, 1st Engineer Special Brigade, “Troop List.” 36

• Gas Supply Company: These companies built and ran the supply depots which stored Class III supplies – gasoline and oil. Each company had enough fuel tanks and trucks to store 16,000 gallons of gasoline or oil.

• Truck Company: Truck companies were responsible for actually transporting supplies to the units which needed them, using trucks. They were also often used to move troops from one place to another. Each company had fifty-one trucks, each of which was capable of transporting twenty-five soldiers, 125 five-gallon cans of gasoline, or over two tons of other equipment. An Army field manual stated that truck companies “must be ready to haul any kind of cargo, any time of day or night, to and from any place that higher authority may direct.” Truck company soldiers were some of the hardest-working men in the Army, particularly in the weeks after , when the Army raced Eastward in pursuit of the German Army. The convoys of trucks bringing supplies to fighting soldiers became known as the ‘Red Ball Express.’ The ‘red balls’ were the sleep- deprived eyes of the drivers.

• Railhead Company: These men rebuilt the French railroad system, which was systematically destroyed in the weeks before D-Day in an attempt to make it more difficult for the German Army to transport reinforcements to the front lines. This was an important task, because while rail transportation lacked the flexibility of trucks, it was far more efficient. After the men rebuilt a section of track, they operated the rail system, bringing supplies to depots throughout France.

• Salvage Collecting Company: These men were responsible for determining what equipment could be salvaged from the battlefield. They tried to eliminate waste and help the Army use its resources more effectively. Equipment which could be saved was collected and moved to an ordinance maintenance company for repair.

• Graves Registration Company: These men collected the bodies of dead American and German soldiers and buried them. Before burial, the graves registration soldiers made an inventory of the items on a soldier’s body and attempted to identify him using the ‘dog tag’ identification discs soldiers wore around their necks. A chaplain of the deceased’s religion said a prayer for the soldier, and then he was buried. One of the soldier’s dog tags was left on his body for identification. The other was attached to a temporary wooden cross which marked the site of the grave. Cemeteries were usually sited in existing civilian cemeteries or near churches.64

64 Battalion organization, Headquarters, 1st Engineer Special Brigade, “Troop List;” description of types of quartermaster companies, War Department, Quartermaster Operations, 87; “supply systems should have,” War Department, Quartermaster Operations, 8; quartermaster gas supply company and statistics, War Department. Quartermaster Service in of Operations. FM 10-10, March 2, 1942. Washington: Government Printing 37

A division’s quartermaster company was smaller than a quartermaster battalion, but performed the same mission. The company had service, car (for transporting commanders around), transportation, maintenance, and graves registration sections. A division’s quartermaster company distributed the supplies brought to them by quartermaster truck or railhead companies.65

Amphibian Truck Battalion

Amphibian truck companies (three to a battalion) were organized in a similar way to a quartermaster truck company. They also performed the same mission. The difference was that they started in the water. Amphibian truck companies were equipped with DUKWs, amphibious trucks which could drive on land or sail through the water. The DUKWs, or ‘ducks’ were absolutely vital for the first week of the invasion and continued to be very important in the weeks following the landings. Normally, port battalion soldiers unloaded a ship’s cargo onto a Rhino ferry, which brought the supplies ashore. The supplies were then loaded onto trucks, which took them to a depot off the beach. The ducks cut out the entire middle step. Duck crews could sail their truck right up to the side of the cargo ship, where port battalion soldiers would load it with supplies. The crew would then head for shore, drive right up onto the beach, and then continue to a depot. After the supplies were unloaded, the men drove back for another load. Using ducks allowed the Army to bring in supplies much faster than they would have been able to otherwise, particularly in the early days of the invasion when the fate of the landings hung in the balance. The 1st Engineer Special Brigade’s Normandy operations report stated that “the DUKW is worth its weight in gold in an assault landing such as NEPTUNE, no self respecting invasion should be without them.”66

Quartermaster companies and battalions, and amphibian truck companies and battalions, each carried unique numbers. For example, the 244th Quartermaster Battalion consisted of the 552nd Quartermaster Railhead Company and the 3878th Quartermaster Gas Service Company.67

Office, 1942. “Changes No. 1,” October 8, 1942; quartermaster truck company, War Department. Quartermaster Truck Companies. FM 10-35, July 1945. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1942; fifty one trucks per battalion, Headquarters, 1st Engineer Special Brigade, “Troop List” and War Department, Quartermaster Truck Companies, 47; truck loads, War Department, Quartermaster Truck Companies, 39; “must be ready,” War Department, Quartermaster Truck Companies, 2; Red Ball Express, David M. Colley. The Road to Victory: The Untold Story of World War II’s Red Ball Express. Washington: Brassey’s, 2000; destruction of French railroad system, Beevor, 44-50; railroad transportation more efficient than trucks, War Department, Quartermaster Operations, 58; and graves registration, War Department, Quartermaster Operations, 112.

65 Divisional quartermaster company, War Department, Quartermaster Operations, 100.

66 Amphibian truck battalion, Headquarters, 1st Engineer Special Brigade, “Troop List;” Normandy operations, Headquarters, 1st Engineer Special Brigade, “Beach Operations Report,” 6-7; and “the DUKW is worth,” Headquarters, 1st Engineer Special Brigade, “Beach Operations Report,” 7.

67 Nomenclature, Headquarters, 1st Engineer Special Brigade, “Troop List.” 38

What was my soldier’s job?

This is a list of the different ranks of soldiers in the battalion, along with their most likely job. Doing further research should help determine exactly what job your soldier had in his unit.

Lt. Colonel: Commanded a battalion or a division’s quartermaster company Major: Executive officer of a battalion or a division’s quartermaster company Captain: Commanded a quartermaster company 1st Lieutenant: Executive officer of a quartermaster company 2nd Lieutenant: Commanded a platoon Master Sergeant: Highest ranking enlisted man in a battalion and a role model for the men. 1st Sergeant: Highest ranking enlisted man in a company and a role model for the men. Tech Sergeant: Executive officer of a platoon or commanded a section (two per platoon) Staff Sergeant: Commanded a section (two per platoon) Technician 3rd Class: Commanded a section (two per platoon) or supervised team of mechanics Sergeant: Commanded a squad (two per section, four squads per platoon) Technician 4th Class: Vehicle driver, mechanic, or supervisor of team of clerks or laborers Corporal: Vehicle driver, mechanic, or supervisor of team of clerks or laborers Technician 5th Class: Vehicle driver, mechanic, or clerk PFC/Private: Laborer or clerk68

Quartermaster soldiers relax by their trucks at the depot in , France Army Signal Corps Photo 111-SC-275789. Courtesy National Archives.

68 Jobs, War Department, Quartermaster Operations, 100 and War Department, Quartermaster Truck Companies, 6-7, 47. 39

Amphibious Combat in Normandy

Though most amphibious soldiers and sailors were not combat soldiers, their job was still dangerous. The most dangerous day for the amphibious team was D-Day. Landing craft crews, NCDU and Naval Beach Battalion sailors, and Army engineers landed during the initial assault in very difficult circumstances. German resistance to the landings was fierce, especially at Omaha Beach. One Coast Guard coxswain guiding his landing craft towards Omaha said that “my eyes were glued to the boat coming in next to ours, and on the water in between, boiling with bullets from hidden shore emplacements, like a mud puddle in a hailstorm. It seemed impossible that we could make it in without being riddled.” Conditions remained dangerous on the beaches for weeks following the invasion. German commanders realized that the key to defeating the invasion was to stop the Allies from bringing reinforcements and supplies to the beaches. Soldiers and sailors working on the beaches were constantly exposed to from German guns and to bombing attacks from airplanes. On June 11, for example, the men of the 1st Engineer Special Brigade had to endure twelve and a half hours of artillery and air bombardment. Men had no protection while working under these conditions, but smart soldiers always had a hole, ditch, or other area of protection in mind which they could dash to at a moment’s notice. Sailors aboard ship had nowhere to hide and had to trust to luck and American anti-aircraft fire to see them through in one piece.69

Naval Demolition Men Blowing Up Obstacles, Mitchell Jamieson, June 1944 Courtesy Naval History and Heritage Command Art Collection

69 Amphibious operations on D-Day, Morison, 77-154; “my eyes were glued,” unnamed coxswain quoted by Scott T. Price. “The U.S. Coast Guard at Normandy,” United States Coast Guard. Accessed December 18, 2011. http://www.uscg.mil/history/articles/h_normandy.asp; June 11 bombardment, Headquarters, 1st Engineer Special Brigade. “S-2 Periodic Report.” No. 5, June 11, 1944. Record Group 407, National Archives, College Park, MD; sailors had to just wait it out, Ernie Pyle. “Let’s Get Outta Here!: That’s the Object When Unloading at Anzio.” The 488th Port Battalion: Transportation Corps, APO 765, 5th U.S. Army. April 22, 1944. Accessed January 3, 2012. http://www.488thportbattalion.org/ErniePyle.html. 40

Living conditions on the beach were far better than they were on the front lines, but they were still primitive and uncomfortable. Soldiers lived in tents near the beach. They made sure that they had a hole dug near their tent, in case they needed to get to shelter in a hurry. For the first few weeks of the invasion, sailors lived offshore in transport ships reserved for their use. Men stayed on the ship when they were not working, and were carried to and from the beach in boats. The sailors transferred to living on the beach after the Seabees erected tent camps where they could live. These camps were primitive, but they offered sheltered areas where men could sleep, portable shower facilities, and kitchen facilities where men could get a hot meal. Bringing supplies to the troops was so important that work did not end just because of minor inconveniences like night, rain, or bombing attacks. Instead, soldiers and sailors worked around the clock to unload ships as fast as possible. The men worked a twelve hour shift, seven days a week. While resting, men slept, read or wrote letters, talked to comrades, or ate. Men learned to eat, drink, and sleep whenever they got a chance, because they never knew when they would have the next opportunity. Soldiers and sailors only got a few hours of sleep a night. They were woken up constantly by the need to take their turn as a guard, by the never-ending pounding of artillery and bombs, or the need to work.70

Vehicles unload onto a causeway off Omaha Beach, June 16, 1944 Army Signal Corps Photo 111-SC-195879. Courtesy National Archives.

70 Living conditions, Brozyna, Longshore Soldiers blog, “Living Accommodations on the Normandy Beaches.” March 25, 2011. Accessed January 17, 2012. http://www.519thportbn.com/2011/03/living-accommodations-on- normandy.html; sailor living conditions, Historical Section, COMNAVEU, 579, and Bureau of Docks and Yards, 117-118; working schedule, Headquarters, 519th Port Battalion, “Historical Data Report” appendix “Tonnage and Statistics;” and Rest, John C. McManus. The Deadly Brotherhood: The American Combat Soldier in World War II. New York: Ballantine Books, 1998, 269; and hygiene, McManus, 76-78 and John Ellis. The Sharp End: The Fighting Man in World War II. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1980, 185. 41

Resources

Books

Not many books have been written about the amphibious forces in World War II. The best source for information about amphibious forces at Normandy is probably the official Navy history, The Invasion of France and Germany: 1944-1945, by Samuel Eliot Morison. Down Ramp! The Story of the Army Amphibian Engineers by William Heavey is also quite helpful. Longshore Soldiers: Homefront, England, Normandy, Antwerp, Life in A World War II Port Battalion by Andrew Brozyna gives the reader a good understanding of the work of the port battalion soldiers. The Frogmen of World War II by Chet Cunningham discusses the NCDUs, while Can Do!: The Story of the Seabees by William Huie tells the story of the Naval Construction Battalions. The Road to Victory: The Untold Story of World War II’s Red Ball Express by David Colley discusses the quartermaster troops. The best place to find other books about your soldier’s unit is WorldCat, the international library database. WorldCat also lists libraries in your area where the book is available, making it quite handy for research: http://www.worldcat.org

Online Resources

The U.S. Army’s Center of Military History has published a series of excellent books on World War II, including From Utah Beach to Cherbourg, Omaha Beachhead, Cross Channel Attack, and Breakout and Pursuit. Some of the archival resources on their website may also prove useful: http://www.history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/ww2eamet.html

CMH also has books on the technical services, including the Quartermaster Corps, Corps of Engineers, and the Transportation Corps: http://www.history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/collect/ww2-ts.html

The Coast Guard Historian’s Office has lots of resources online about the Coast Guard in Normandy: http://www.uscg.mil/history/Normandy_Index.asp

The Navy has many WWII documents online, some of which are relevant to Normandy: http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/readingroom.htm#worldtwo

If you are researching a Seabee, the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum has scanned many of their WWII operational documents, which are extremely useful: http://www.history.navy.mil/museums/seabee/UnitHistoricalInformation.htm

Lone Sentry: Photographs, Documents, and Research on World War II is a true gem of a resource. Most useful are the ‘GI Series’ of booklets. These are short histories published by divisions just after the war. Note the GI Stories on the ‘Service Forces,’ some of which are

42 useful. The “U.S. Divisions” section at the bottom of the home page has links to pages listing detailed information about each unit. The website also has numerous articles, training manuals and intelligence bulletins which provide interesting primary sources for various topics: http://www.lonesentry.com/

American D-Day has a number of useful documents: http://www.americandday.org/

6 Juin 1944 also has useful documents, oral histories, maps, and photographs for both the Utah and Omaha Beach assaults: http://www.6juin1944.com/assaut/en_index.html

The Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress’s website is a great place to find oral histories of veterans from your soldier’s unit. Check the relevant boxes and search for the unit for which you are looking: http://www.loc.gov/vets/

U.S. 6th Naval Beach Battalion has excellent information on the Naval Beach Battalions: http://www.6thbeachbattalion.org/ (There are lots of good NBB websites – do some searches!)

USS Association has some interesting oral history interviews with LCI sailors: http://www.usslci.com/

Andrew Brozyna’s blog, Longshore Soldiers: A History of the US Army Port Companies in World War II has some excellent information and short histories of various battalions. Andrew is also a wonderful resource, and can help connect researchers with port battalion veterans: http://www.519thportbn.com/

These are only a selection of the many websites with WWII information available. It is a good idea to type your soldier’s name or his unit into a search engine and see what you can find!

Images and artwork http://www.history.army.mil/html/reference/Normandy/pictures.html http://www.history.army.mil/art/Posters/WWII/WW2.htm http://www.history.army.mil/html/artphoto/pripos/pripos.html http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-eur/normandy/nor3.htm http://www.history.navy.mil/ac/d-day/exdday/exdday.htm http://www.stolly.org.uk/ETO/ http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/ww2.html http://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/photos/#aviation http://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/ww2-pictures/

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http://www.archive.org/ (NOTE: Has many WWII-era newsreels and documentaries)

Archival Sources

The National Archives has a handy brochure on researching WWII soldiers: http://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/ww2-participation.pdf

The American Battle Monuments Commission’s (ABMC) website allows you to search for soldiers by name, by state, or by unit here: http://www.abmc.gov/search/wwii.php

If your soldier was an enlisted man or NCO, the first step in researching him is to find his enlistment record. The enlistment record lists some basic information about the soldier – marital status, age, race, height, year of birth, selectee or volunteer, etc. They are available online at the National Archives’s website. The best way to search is by using the soldier’s service number (S/N). ABMC’s listing for that soldier will give you his service number. If you do not have the soldier’s service number, try searching for his name instead. Most of the records are here:

http://aad.archives.gov/aad/fielded-search.jsp?dt=893&cat=WR26&tf=F&bc=,sl

If you don’t find the soldier, try here:

http://aad.archives.gov/aad/fielded-search.jsp?dt=929&cat=WR26&tf=F&bc=,sl

You may be able to get the soldier’s military personnel file from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri by mailing in Standard Form 180. The form lists the address to mail the form on the last page. Most WWII U.S. Army records were destroyed in a fire in 1973, but it is worth a try:

http://www.archives.gov/research/order/standard-form-180.pdf

The Army created an Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) for each serviceman killed during the war (including Navy sailors and Coast Guardsmen too). The IDPF takes months to get, but gives valuable information and often contains correspondence with family members regarding the deceased. The ones I have seen do not contain any images or descriptions of the state of the body, but it is probably a good idea to have the file sent to your teacher, just in case. To get your soldier’s IDPF, fill out the Freedom of Information Act request on at the end of this section and mail it to:

The Human Resources Command, FOIA Office, 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue, Building 1, Third Floor, Ft. Knox, KY 40122.

The National Archives’s website has lists of military personnel killed during the war by state and by county. The forward to these books often has interesting information about your state’s participation in the war. The Army lists are here:

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http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/ww2/army-casualties/

…And the Navy and Coast Guard lists are here:

http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/ww2/navy-casualties/index.html

The Navy and Coast Guard casualty lists are particularly valuable because they list the name and address of the sailor’s next-of-kin.

Engineer Special Brigade soldiers share a letter on the beach, June 1944 Army Signal Corps Photo. Courtesy Stolly.org.uk.

The best place to do research on your soldier’s family is http://www.ancestry.com. Ancestry offers a two week free trial, so you should be able to find your soldier’s census data using the information from ABMC’s website and his enlistment record (if applicable). Some libraries have Ancestry on a computer for free use. By now, you hopefully know where your soldier was from and have a year of birth. Using that information, you can think about where he may have gone to high school. What high schools were around in his town or city in the late 1930s? Contact the school’s librarian. They may be able to find a yearbook picture of the soldier. It is also a good idea to talk to the people at your local or state historical society. They may be able to help you find resources. Try finding a library or university with the soldier’s local newspaper archived. You may be able to find an article about him or an obituary. Remember that obituaries were sometimes not printed until months after the soldier died. It often took weeks for the Army to send information regarding the soldier to his family. A city or county directory may have been published for your soldier’s area by R. L. Polk & Company. These directories list each

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resident in alphabetical order and give a one-sentence listing of their place of work, job title, and address. Check WorldCat or your local library for listings. Researching the soldier’s personal life is the most difficult part of fallen soldier research. You have to think like a detective and be creative to try to find sources. Sometimes a piece of evidence from one source and another scrap of information from another source can lead to wonderful results.

Your soldier’s military records are housed in two different archives. The records of your soldier’s military unit are at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. These records contain all kinds of military documents. You can find after action reports discussing what happened during a battle, orders from your soldier’s commander, lists of medals or awards, and even minute-by-minute logs of messages coming in to the unit’s staff officers. Sometimes, these records have really interesting items, like cartoons, unit newspapers, and other items that give you an idea of what life in your soldier’s unit was like. A few other records are housed at the National Personnel Records Center. The NPRC has unit rosters of all of the men in a unit, but not for the years 1944 or 1945 (those were thrown out). They also have Army company morning reports – a short document filled out each morning by the company listing what happened that day, the number of men in the unit, and the names of men not present for duty that day for whatever reason.

Sometimes you find the information you want very quickly during your research and other times you have to work for it. Sometimes the information is just gone forever. But it is best to ‘leave no stone unturned’ and to try everything. Your hard work will usually be rewarded with good results. Take a lesson your soldier had to learn in Normandy – be flexible, be creative, and don’t give up.

Trucks and supplies are unloaded from a Rhino ferry onto Omaha Beach, August 1944 Army Signal Corps Photo 111-SC-275415. Courtesy National Archives.

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Freedom of Information Act Request

TO: Department of the Army Human Resources Command of Excellence ATTN: FOIA, Bldg 1, 3rd Floor, Suite 17 1600 Spearhead Division Avenue Fort Knox, KY 40122

E-mail address: [email protected] Telephone: 502-613-4400

I request a copy of the Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) pertaining to:

Soldier’s Rank and Name: ______

Serial Number if known: ______

Date of Death: ______

Conflict: ______

Next of Kin requesting documents: ______

Next of Kin day time phone number: ______

Mailing address where documents will be sent: ______

Signature of requestor and Date

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Bibliography

Beevor, Antony. D-Day: The Battle for Normandy. New York: Penguin Books, 2009.

Blackwell, Jr., Lt. (j.g.) H. L. “Report on Naval Combat Demolition Units in Operation ‘NEPTUNE’ as part of Task Force 122.” 5 July 1944. Navy Department Library.

Brozyna, Andrew. Longshore Soldiers: A History of the US Army Port Companies in World War II. Accessed January 3, 2012. http://www.519thportbn.com.

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