June 6, 1944: The Climatic Battle of World War II

By Stephen E. Ambrose

… How on earth did Koreans end up fighting for Hitler to defend France against Americans? It seems they had been conscripted into the Japanese army in 1938 – Korea was then a Japanese colony – captured by the Red Army in the border battles with Japan in 1939, forced into the Red Army, captured by the Wehrmacht in December 1941 outside Moscow, forced into the German army, and sent to France. (What happened to them, Lieutenant Brewer never found out, but presumably they were sent back to Korea. If so, they would almost certainly have been conscripted again, either into the South or the North Korean army. It is possible that in 1950 they ended up fighting once again, either against the U.S. Army, or with it, depending on what part of Korea they came from. Such are the vagaries of politics in the twentieth century.)

(Ambrose 2002, 34)

… According to Pvt. Carl Weast of the U.S. 5th Ranger Battalion, “A veteran infantryman is a terrified infantryman.” Sgt. Carwood Lipton of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) of the 101st Airborne commented, “I took chances on D-Day I would never have taken later in the war.”

In Wartime, Paul Fussell writes that men in combat go through two stages of rationalization followed by one of perception. Considering the possibility of a severe wound or death, the average soldier’s first rationalization is: “It can’t happen to me. I am too clever/agile/well-trained/good-looking/beloved/tightly laced, etc.” The second rationalization is: “It can happen to me, and I’d better be more careful. I can avoid the danger by watching more prudently the way I take cover/dig in/expose my position by firing my weapon/keep extra alert at all times, etc.” Finally, the realization is “It is going to happen to me, and only my not being there is going to prevent it.”

(Ambrose 2002, 48-49)

In World War I, two black U.S. divisions had fought in France. One, serving with the French army, did well; it won many medals and a request from the French for more black troops. The other, serving with the American army, with white Southerners as officers and woefully inadequate training and equipment, did poorly. The War College officers in 1937 concentrated on the failure and ignored the success, which led them to conclude that blacks were not capable of combat service. Consequently, although three black infantry divisions were organized for World War II, only one, the 92nd Infantry, saw combat.

By March 1944, there were about 150,000 black American soldiers in the United Kingdom. Most of them were in Services of Supply, mainly working at the ports unloading ships or driving trucks. They were strictly segregated. In the mythology of the time, this did not mean they were objects of discrimination. Separate but equal was the law of the land back home, and in Britain.

(Ambrose 2002, 147)

Among the millions of men gathered in southern England to participate in the invasion of France, only a handful knew the secrets of Overlord – where the assault would go ashore, and when. Those few had a super security designation, above Top Secret, called Bigot; they were said to be “bigoted.”

(Ambrose 2002, 156)

Major Thomas of the 508th didn’t pay much attention at his briefing: “I had been in the airborne long enough to know that night jumps never went off as planned.” Afterward, he got into a poker game. He was losing so he thought “I better go and listen to the chaplain, so as to touch all the bases. About the time I was sitting down on a cot in the last row, the only seat left in the house, Chaplain Elder says, ‘Now, the Lord is not particularly interested in those who only turn to him in times of need.’ I thought, ‘Gee, he must have seen me come in.’ So I got up and left.”

(Ambrose 2002, 160-161)

Eisenhower nodded, paced some more, stopped, looked at Tedder and asked his opinion. Tedder thought it “chancy” and wanted to postpone. Again Eisenhower nodded, paced, stopped, turned to Montgomery and asked, “Do you see any reason for not going Tuesday?” Montgomery looked Eisenhower in the eye and replied, “I would say – Go!”

The high command of the AEF was split. Only Eisenhower could decide. Smith was struck by the “loneliness and isolation of a commander at a time when such a momentous decision was to be taken by him, with full knowledge that failure or success rests on his individual decision.” Eisenhower paced, chin tucked on his chest. He stopped and remarked, “The question is just how long can you hang this operation on the end of a limb and let it hang there?”

(Ambrose 2002, 187)

Lt. Col. Frank Walk was an assistant beach master for the ESB. His responsibility was to serve as traffic patrol officer, to direct incoming vehicles to open exits so they could climb to the top. But there were no open exits, and in any case Walk – who landed at about 0800 – could not get off the beach. He and his radioman and his runner were under intense small-arms fire, “and one thing they spent a lot of time teaching us in the Army was how to dig foxholes. That is wasted training time. It is a natural instinct when you’re under fire to dig a hole as fast as you can even if you have to do it with your fingernails. No one has to teach you how to dig a hole.”

(Ambrose 2002, 378)

On D-Day, Franklin Roosevelt used the power of radio to link the nation in a prayer. Throughout the day the networks broadcast the text, which was printed in the afternoon edition of the newspapers; at 2200 Eastern War Time the president prayed while Americans across the country joined him:

“Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor . . .

“Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith . . .

“These men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. . . . They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

“Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom. . . .

“And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other. . . . Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen. ”

(Ambrose 2002, 491)

The impulse to pray was overwhelming. Many people got their first word of the invasion as they began their daily routines; after they recovered their breath, they said a silent prayer. Others heard the news broadcast on loudspeakers during their night shifts on assembly lines around the country. Men and women paused over their machines, prayed, and returned to work with renewed dedication.

Across the United States and Canada, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Arctic to the Gulf Coast, the church bells rang. Not in triumph or celebration but as a solemn reminder of national unity and a call to formal prayer. Special services were held in every church and synagogue in the land. Pews were jammed with worshipers.

(Ambrose 2002, 495-496)

In the July 20 issue, the Bulletin reported that the 116th had been awarded a presidential citation, and it recorded the awful news that on July 19 fourteen families in Bedford were informed that their sons had been killed on June 6. There would be more to come. The editor wrote, “They died as all free men should die – gallantly and unafraid. They knew what was before them. But there was no shirking or hesitation, no holding back, no attempt to escape the issue.”

(At the Normandy American Cemetery and memorial, overlooking Omaha Beach, there are eleven sons of Bedford buried along with 9,386 other American war dead from the Normandy campaign. The cemetery is beautifully and perfectly maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission. No American can visit the site without feeling a surge of pride, nor can any American suppress a flow of tears. In the circular chapel, there are inscribed these words: “Think not only upon their parring. Remember the glory of their spirit.”)

(Ambrose 2002, 497-498)

King George VI made a D-Day broadcast to the nation. “Four years ago,” he began, “our Nation and Empire stood alone against an overwhelming enemy, with our backs to the wall. . . . Now once more a supreme test has to be faced. This time the challenge is not to fight to survive but to fight to win the final victory for the good cause.”

The kings knew that nearly all his subjects were listening and realized that the mothers and wives among them deserved special concerting. “The Queen joins with me in sending you this message,” he said. “She well understands the anxieties and care of our womenfolk at this time and she knows that many of them will find, as she does herself, fresh strength and comfort in such waiting upon God.”

The king called on his subjects to pray: “At this historic moment surely not one of us is too busy, too young, or too old to play a part in a nation-wide, perchance a world-wide, vigil of prayer as the great crusade sets forth.”

(Ambrose 2002, 502)

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References

Ambrose, Stephen E. 2002. D-Day June 6, 1944. N.p.: Pocket Books.

ISBN 9780743449748