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For many, the passage of time has robbed D-Day of
its human face. Rather than being remembered as an epic story made
up of individual and collective acts of heroism, it has been
deprived of its emotional value and is now simply another day in
June. When D-Day comes around, people no longer see the many men of
the 82nd and 101st Airborne who fell into inundated fields and
swamps and drowned. They don’t think of the irony of the wind and
tides, which pulled so many of the landing craft off course, yet
landed craft on Utah Beach 2000 yards off course onto a less
fortified area. So many of us didn’t see and therefore don’t
remember the three assault waves that were bottled up behind the
first on the killing fields of Omaha Beach, or the 2nd Ranger
Battalion that scaled Pointe du Hoc under murderous enemy
fire only to discover that the "big guns" they had been sent to
neutralize were actually telephone poles.
D-Day marked the turning point of the war in
Europe and ultimately led to the destruction of the Third Reich, for
no complete victory could be achieved as long as Hitler held the
continent.
On the eve of this epic battle, Franklin D.
Roosevelt spoke the following prayer at the end of his Fireside
Chate. "Almighty God; Our sons, pride of our nation, this day
have set upon a might endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic,
our religion and our civilization, and to set free a suffering
humanity . . . They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long
and hard . . . Success may not come with rushing speed, but . . . we
know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our
sons will triumph. . ."
This "mighty endeavor," was called by Winston
Churchill "The most difficult and complicated operation ever to take
place," and saw the British assigned to Sword and Gold Beaches, the
Canadians to Juno, and the Americans to Utah and Omaha. The day is
remembered by different people in different ways and holds a special
place in the memories of those who survived World War II.
The Eighth Air Force flew four missions on 6 June
in support of the invasion, and the following accounts of the day
are offered by 100th Bomb Group members to honor this remembrance.
General Tom Jeffrey amazed me with his vivid
recall of events. "On 5 June 44, upon returning from a mission with
the 100th Bomb Group, I was met at the airplane by Fred Price, the
Air Exec, and advised that I was to report to Division Headquarters,
and to be armed. He had no idea as to the purpose or the reason for
the side arm. I got out of my flying clothes, got into my dress
uniform, strapped on my .45 and set out for Elvedon Hall, General
LeMay’s headquarters. Upon arrival, I found the other Group and Wing
Commanders of the 3rd Air Division arriving, all asking the same
questions – why are we here and armed?
Shortly after being ushered into the briefing
room, we stood as Gen. LeMay entered. Without fanfare, he announced
that ‘tomorrow at daylight the Allied Forces will launch an invasion
of the continent of Europe.’ We all smiled, thought we felt like
cheering, because to us it meant that the end of the war that we had
been fighting for so long was foreseeable, and also that we, the air
forces had made the invasion possible. No land invasion could
succeed without control of the air, and we had achieved that goal.
A map was uncovered and Gen. LeMay pointed to
Normandy as the location of the landing. After other remarks,
directions, timing, etc., he made the following statement: ‘The
importance of success of this invasion is such that, if it becomes
necessary, we will expend every airplane in the 8th Air Force to
bring it about, to include use of the bombers to strafe the
beaches.’ There were, as I recall, no questions.
On the way back to Thorpe Abbotts, I speculated
as to the reason for the .45 and concluded that I was expected to
safeguard the information that I had been given at whatever cost.
Upon arrival at the base, it was necessary to get things going
without letting the cat out of the bag, especially since to be over
Normandy at daylight we were going to take off and assemble very
early and all in the dark, along with every airplane in the 8th Air
Force and the Royal Air Force.
I recall vividly the reaction of the flight crews
at our briefing, when I announced the event and target for the day.
It was not as restrained as it was at Gen. LeMay’s briefing.
Normally the reaction was either silence or a groan. This time there
was a great cheer.
As I recall, we got off the ground at 0130-0230,
carrying small bombs to be dropped in order not to dig deep craters
through which the troops and tanks would have to crawl. I led this
mission, which was the first of three that the 100th Bomb Group flew
on D-Day.
The raid was uneventful, though the assembly in
the dark with 10,000 flares was not exactly an everyday occurrence.
AS we approached Normandy at an altitude of 15,000 feet, the weather
below us was not too good. We could see, as I recall, some of the
flotilla, but not the beach itself, so I believe we made a radar
drop. Since, however, the coast would have been clearly visible to
radar, we were not concerned with dropping short. I recall that
looking out of the cockpit as we approached the coast, that there
were aircraft in every direction as far as the eye could see and all
friendly . . . also no flak.
When we returned to base, I believe our second
mission had taken off. On the third, I remember we loaded the old
unarmed administrative B-17E and sent it along. I believe that we
put up everything we had that day and I think a lot of men flew that
day who normally did not fly missions, but what the hell."
General Jack Kidd remembers D-Day as a big
blur! "Finally, the day for the long-awaited invasion was at hand.
As Group Operations Officer it was my responsibility to: organize
the seven different flights of from six to eighteen each, sixty-six
in all, dispatch them over a thirteen hour and forty-five minute
period, brief the crews, check availability of aircraft and crews as
the aircraft returned, as most crews flew two sorties that day.
D-Day was preceded by three attacks in three days on coastal targets
and by six more in the following eight days, all in support of the
ground troops. In the spirit of the times – never in memory matched
in time of war – every member of the 100th went all-out on D-Day,
just as in the entire forty-six months of operations; every
individual knew what was at stake. General Eisenhower paid all of us
who fought in the air war, including the RAF, a tribute in his
Original Invasion Orders: ‘Our air offensive has seriously reduced
their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the
ground.’"
The Germans informed Barwick O. Barfield,
in Stalag Luft III, of D-Day. "We were very excited. A German
officer took a stick and drew in the sand a map of where it had
taken place. He told us that the Allies would be pushed back into
the sea."
Barwick’s wife, Marilee Barfield recalls
June 6, 1944 in a very different way. "It was a Tuesday. My family
was invited out to a luncheon and had not had the radio on, but I
remember there was a premonition of something going to happen or had
happened. When we arrived at the home of our hostess, she told us of
the invasion. Everyone was excited. Later on in the afternoon when
we arrived home, there was a note on the back door saying ‘call
Western Union.’ I became very upset, called, and was told the
messenger was on his way with the telegram. Our neighbors had seen
him come earlier and were concerned for me because of Barwick and
also because my stepfather was fighting in the Pacific. Neighbors
were very close in those days. I can still see the messenger walking
up the walkway; it seemed to take him forever.
‘The Secretary of War desires me to express
his deep regret that your husband 2nd Lt. Barwick O. Barfield has
been reported missing in action since 24 May over Germany. If
further details or other information are received you will be
promptly notified. The Adjutant General.’ (On June 26, 1944,
Marilee received word that her husband had been captured and was a
POW.)
Earl Benham, a 350th Squadron ROG, had
concluded his flight duty before D-Day, but remembers the following.
"I had been on the field all night for field duty. I returned to the
barracks for sleep right after takeoff. Field security of the
mission was good. I learned of the D-Day operation after I was
awakened by the first returning crews."
Muriel Jones, widow of Paul G. Jones
(418th Squadron pilot – Messie Bessie 42-30152), was working
at 20th Century Fox on D-Day. She didn’t know it at the time, but it
washer husband’s first mission with the 100th. "I was thinking that
maybe this would help end the war so that he could come home sooner.
I never could make myself think he might not come back at all."
Charles E. Thompson, a pilot with the 351st
Squadron spent D-Day as a POW. "After walking the perimeter of
Stalag Luft III with my bombardier Lt. William J. Sprow, Jr., I
returned to my room of seven other POWs for our noontime tea.
Shortly thereafter, we were surprised by the arrival from our camp’s
secret, central radio, of the latest Berlin and BBC news. We were
cautioned to keep our voices down at the end of the news. There were
no restrictions on the big smiles and back poundings however."
Bill Dixon, a 418th Squadron waist gunner,
responded that "My recollections of D-Day will be somewhat different
than most. I was shot down on 6 March 1944. We made it to Sweden and
were interned there. On D-Day I was living in Turisthemmet, Rattvik,
Sverige. Turisthemmet (which means The Tourists Home) was a small
hotel. Rattvik is a small summer and winter resort village in the
State of Dalarna, Sweden. When I awoke on D-Day morning, I did what
I did every morning upon awakening. Without getting out of bed, I
reached over to the desk, took out a cigarette, switched on my radio
which was tuned to a German radio station because they played the
best contemporary American music. But this morning was slightly
different. The German announcer was very excited and told about the
invasion and how the Allied troops were being repulsed, thrown back
into the channel, and could never consolidate their position on the
continent. At that point, I got out of bed, tuned the radio to
short-wave, and attempted to find an English language broadcast. My
German was problematical at best and I wanted to verify what I
thought I had just heard auf Deutsche. At that point my roommate
came in all excited because they had picked up a British broadcast
on the radio on the second floor lounge. The rest of the day was
spent by most of the fellows almost exclusively in listening to
radio broadcasts."
Col. Jack Moore (349th Squadron) was in a
German POW Hospital at Obermasfeld, Germany, on D-Day. "We got the
news of the landings about mid-afternoon and there was much
rejoicing. Of course we expected to be liberated shortly, but
actually it took more like a year before it happened."
George Miller, a 351st Squadron WG, was still
in training in Denver, getting ready to go to gunnery school in Las
Vegas on D-Day. "The best we could do was offer our prayers for
those many brave people in Normandy."
Harry Crosby: "During the month of May, we
felt the pace go up. In the weeks before D-Day we put up two whole
groups: 100th A and 100th B plus 12 supernumeraries. We dropped
every kind of bomb we had. We were softening up the coast from
Holland to Spain.
In the week before D-Day, I worked 24 hours a day
superintending the preparation of maps, flight plans and formation
for over a hundred different missions and variations. As a result, I
worked for 75 hours straight. The night before D-Day I was a zombie
and was ordered to go to my quarters and get some sleep.
Twenty-four hours later I awakened and it was all
over! The BBC was announcing the landings and Axis Sally was
corroborating. And I had missed it all!"
Bill DeBlasio, tail gunner on Rosie’s
Riveters (42-30758), had already been rotated back to the
states. On D-Day, Bill remembers, "I was in Pittsburgh, PA, spending
my time between my Mother and Sister and the girl I was engaged to.
We had no wild parties or even close to it. . . just a big relief
that it went as well as it did."
Butch Goodwin, a 350th Squadron Pilot,
remembers, "We were alerted and awakened early June 6 for the long
awaited mission to invade the continent. I flew two missions on
D-Day. Shortly after D-Day I started looking for my brother Glen (a
paratrooper with the 101st Airborne) and located him in a hospital
in the Wales area. I was able to obtain a B-17 on a Sunday and flew
to the hospital. Glen had been injured during the invasion and had
spent four days in a foxhole before being located by medics. My
brother-in-law was also in the invasion with the 2nd Armored
Division." |
