Story: Normandy - Operation NEPTUNE Part 1

Operation NEPTUNE, the Naval Phase of OVERLORD

By Lloyd Williams

Troops waiting for departure aboard 262nd Flotilla of LCI(L)s for D-Day
Normandy. Tied up alongside in Southampton during a day of bad weather.
CP Photo as found in St. Nazaire to Singapore, Page 231

(Mr. L. Williams told the following story at the Maritime Museum of Vancouver in 1995. Some details were supplied by Jim Gibb.)

 Maritime Museum of BC. in Victoria. 2012

Mr. Williams says, "Operation Neptune, the naval phase of Overlord, had the primary task of landing the armies of liberation on French soil, and secondly the maintenance of waterborne lines of communication and supply."

Canada supplied 110 ships and 10,000 seamen to the enterprise, about 4 per cent of the Naval contribution. HMCS Prince Henry and Prince David, luxury liners transformed into landing ships early in the year, assembled at Cowes (Isle of Wight) with other LSI(M)s and given D-Day assignments. Prince Henry, as a Senior Officer of Landing Ships (SOLS) in Force J would carry eight assault craft of the 528th Canadian Flotilla, and Prince David, as a Senior Ship in the same force, would transport six craft of the 529th along with six Royal Marine Boats. And shortly thereafter at Cowes, after lengthy training exercises, three Canadian Flotillas of LCI(L)s arrived, the 260th, 262nd and 264th, 30 craft in all.

Then began final exercises on a very large scale, the last of which (Operation Fabius) took place in broad daylight and later under a bright moon twenty-five miles south of the Isle of Wight, and likely was observed by the enemy, thus adding the risk of a possible attack. None came and the great force of ships and troops landed before dawn "under the thunder of supporting arms" east of Portsmouth and upon the beaches of Bracklesham Bay.

Williams says, "On May 24 the King inspected all the assault ships and craft.... (Officers and ratings were presented to the King) "after which the small ships were sailed past while His Majesty took the salute."

A signal announced the King's passing by his LCI(L)s in a barge

Officers and ratings await the Royal Sail Past in Southampton.

Photo by David Lewis, St. Nazaire to Singapore, Page 230

After final preparations and anxious days of waiting the Allied strike forces were organized to cross the English Channel for mass landings on the French coast at Baie de la Seine, "the longest stretch of open shore lying within effective range" of supporting aircraft. Williams supplies details related to the size, shape and depth of the bay, and the German defences. About "the great German mine belt" he says that slits would be created in it "through which the assaulting ships could pass" (after the dropping of airborne troops at 2400 hours on June 6) along a five-divisional front.

D-Day strategy involved "a night-long smashing by aircraft" followed by Naval bombardment at dawn directed toward Germany's strongest defences. Landing craft would approach designated beaches on swelling tidal waters "over the mines" and assorted defensive obstacles arranged systematically upon the beaches. "Depths and gradients along each foot of the shore were known" and assault craft were expected to find "exact beaching positions."

Allied aerial bombardment would be closely followed by tremendous Naval bombardment (supplied by seven battleships, 23 cruisers, 104 destroyers and more, i.e., monitors, gunboats and rocket-firing ships) and then seven divisions of soldiers expected to land within the first day, then reinforcements would arrive (more than one division per day).

"No sea-borne landing even remotely comparable in size had ever been attempted under such conditions," says Lloyd Williams.

The Normandy landings: U.S. and British Forces and Transports.

Canadians Among the British. St. Nazaire to Singapore, Page 232

Thousands of ships had to adhere to a highly organized timetable - and pass through only ten narrow mine-swept lanes - in order for Operation OVERLORD to be successful. Any disruption of the flow of troops, their supplies and reinforcements could cause "the most disastrous results." The threat of bad weather caused great fear among planners. Raging seas might delay heavily-burdened landing craft and storms would hinder navigation and decrease the support of air cover. As well, Germany had 230 surface ships - including destroyers and heavily-armed R-boats - within range of the Channel crossing zone, and a dangerous force of U-Boats based on the European coast.

"At 2400 on June 5, the 260th Canadian Flotilla slipped their lines from Southampton docks and proceeded to join a stream of similar craft threading its way down the crowded anchorage of the Solent," says Williams.

The LCI(L)s felt heavy in the water at slow, station-keeping speed, but the seven craft kept pace with their 1,300 troops on board (including 250 Canadians), as did the 12 craft of the 262nd Flotilla carrying 2,100 troops, mostly Canadian. The 264th Canadian Flotilla kept in its line nearby. And nine hours later followed the Prince Henry and David,  between them leading fourteen landing ships.

D-Day crossing: LCAs hang upon davits on landing ships

Photo as found in Combined Operations by C. Marks

The 264th Canadian Flotilla was bound for the Gold Sector, and all other Canadian ships were bound for Juno Sector. Larger ships that had left the Solent later in the morning passed smaller craft on their way to their positions (e.g., HMCS Algonquin passed Prince Henry) and it was noticed by some that LCI(L) flotillas were "tossing and bucketing as they fought to maintain course" in the choppy seas. Once through mine-swept channels, the ships spread out - at distances up to seven miles from shore -to face their target beaches.

"By 5:35 the (aforementioned Canadian) vessels were swinging at anchor in the eerie half-dawn light, each an exact 300 yards from the next," says Williams.

From the Prince David were first lowered two RN craft and at 6:17 one loaded with Royal Marines headed for Nan Beach to provide small arms support. At 6:35 the second craft headed toward the beach where Marines would work in waist-deep water "clearing mines and obstacles ahead of the assault craft."

Canadians emerged next from the troop decks and climbed into assault landing craft. Loaded LCAs were lowered from the David and Henry and soon joined swarms of craft from other ships in preparation for beaching. Some assault units were assigned to land at Mike Red beach "a mile to the east of Courseulles" while others were destined for Nan White, one and a half miles farther west.

More to follow.

Please link to Story: The Mine - Difficult Manoeuvres, 1944

Unattributed Photos GH

Context: The Link to Commandos

Canada's Sailors Read About Commandos in 1941?

Headline as found in Halifax Herald, December 1941 (microfiche)

The first draft of Canadians volunteered for Combined Operations in late fall 1941 but had a tough time leaving Halifax to begin training on landing barges in the UK - because the ship they departed upon (Queen of Bermuda) ran aground at Chebucto Head as it nosed out into the stormy and snow-swept Atlantic Ocean. 

(For more details about 'running aground' please link to Three Accounts: Getting Started, Then Grounded as found on this site.)

Had the young Canadian sailors in Halifax picked up a local newspaper while waiting for another ride overseas, they would have had no idea that their future training in the UK would, in several ways, be linked to the Commandos mentioned on Page Four, re "Seasickness Toughest Foe". They would train in the same or similar Combined Ops Centres, follow some of the same training regimen, even cross paths with Commando units.

The odds that the first Canadians to join Combined Operations read about Commandos - before they worked with them - are pretty good.

Excerpt from Combined Operations 1940 - 1942,

Ch. 7 - The Significant Adventure of Vaagso

The Halifax Herald article covers many details of the raid that took place in Norway (while the Canadian boys waited for the Dutch liner Volendam to arrive for them in Halifax) and more written details and good maps can be found in a book entitled Combined Operations 1940 - 1942, first published in the UK in 1943 and sold for one shilling, 0 d. 

One reads, "The object of the raid was, while harassing the German defences on the coast of South-West Norway, to attack and destroy a number of military and economic targets in the town of South Vaagso and on the nearby island of Maaloy, and to capture or sink any shipping found in Ulvesund." Page 52.

The Halifax Herald, December 1941 reports the following:

London, Dec. 29 (CP) - The Commandos, who often are called Britain's toughest troops, encountered their toughest foe in the raid on Norway, Saturday - seasickness.

Ralph Walling, Reuters correspondent who accompanied the expedition, described how the rough North Sea crossing sent many of the hardened fighters to their bunks. But they all managed to get back on their feet to participate in the raid. It probably was a good thing that they did, Walling wrote in his account of the raid, because "although outnumbered, the Germans put up a stiff and skilful fight."

As the ships came to anchor and the Commando barges were lowered, the warships opened a furious broadside against the four-gun coastal battery on the island of Maaloy.

"With firepower of nearly 30 shells a minute the naval guns pulverized this lump of rock," Walling wrote. "Beneath this cannonade a thin, snakelike line of Commando barges drove straight to the islet and within half an hour the men in them had climbed the rocky slopes, stormed the guns and, as in the days of the cutlass and the pistol, shot many Germans."

From Combined Operations 1940 - 1942, Page 35.

Main Landing 

"Simultaneously with this assault, led by a major who serenaded his men across the smooth waters to the strain of his bagpipes, the main landing, which I made in the leading barge, took place. I waded ashore with the rest, knee deep through rocky pools and acrid fumes, onto ledges covered with snow. It was then that the fun - Commando fun, 1942 style - really started. Officers of the troops concerned gathered their troops for the most desperate of all the tasks allotted the army on that short, swift day. They had to advance down the main street."

"Resistance was particularly stubborn in the centre of the town which, as the morning grew older, began to blaze as more and more houses holding snipers and small parties of the enemy came under heavy fire. While we were dodging behind boulders and slinking over the first half mile, and while the first Norwegian men and women and children anxious to go to England were running back to our barges, some in tears, some laughing, all rather scared, two warships rode majestically past the town, sending a wash ashore for four miles or more of the Nazi inland waterway space."

From Combined Operations 1940 - 1942, Page 53.

Cunning Enemy

"The enemy fought to the last and they were good physical types. By skilful use of cover and by using flashless and smokeless cordite, he showed us he is a cunning enemy who has mastered one of the ugliest features of modern war - street fighting. On the whole the Norwegian population took their frightening experience well. I saw no civilian casualties myself."

Walling said the Germans got little help from their air force although the airdromes at Trondheim, Stavanger, Lista, Aalorg and Herdis were all within striking distance.

"For the most time the R.A.F. fighters circled over us with nothing to do," Walling wrote.

The final scene of the expedition was enacted on the return trip to Britain. The battered bodies of three men were committed to the deep. Walling did not say how they were killed.

Please link to Context re Combined Ops: H. Jones, on Reina Del Pacifico

Photos GH

Audio: F. Turnbull, C.H. Roach - D-Day Normandy

"I Can Remember Letting Down the Ramp"

Landing Ship, Tank (LST) aground on Sword Beach, Normandy, 6 June 1944.

Photo Credit - Cyril Roach, as found at The Memory Project

Introduction: One will find hundreds of audio files related to the experiences of men and women associated with many branches of Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian organizations (e.g., Red Cross, CWAC, etc.) at The Memory Project. Most audio files are accompanied by authentic WW2 photos and a written transcript.

The two audio files presented here relate to two men in the Navy (one in the RN) closely linked to landing craft and, very likely for both, the Combined Operations organization.

Please link to the audio file that recalls the memories of Fred Turnbull.

From the audio transcript we read, in part:

As we got close to the beach.... at Normandy we were about seven miles off the beach. So going in, we didn’t have too much responsibility as a bowman. But as we got closer to the beach, I had to get ready, as a bowman, to let down the ramp at the proper time. So I would let the ramp down, and the idea was that the troops would go down the ramp as quickly as possible.

Mr. Turnbull goes on to explain his work with anti-broaching lines and their purpose. Canadians in Combined Ops would know the procedure by heart.

Please link to the audio file that recalls the memories of Cyril H. Roach

From his audio transcript we read the following:

I went through training and I became an engineer officer aboard an LST, which was a double-decker landing ship, which was used at the time of our landings in France....

On D-Day, we arrived in France, having left the Isle of Wight on the night of the 5th of June, about 11 o’clock. We arrived off of Le Havre.... the point where troops were landing, with the objective of Caen. On landing, the ship dropped the anchor a half a mile out and we then put full speed ahead onto the beaches, so that we were able to land the troops and light equipment, which supported also part of the [British] 6th Airborne Division, as well as other contingents of the army.

Mr. Roach (RN) describes "being shelled very heavily" and seeing thousands of aircraft above him. He remembers the moment when three Messerschmitts strafed nearby beaches, killing many troops and injuring men (including himself) aboard the LST. He makes a point of saying, "my crew were actually Canadians from out west. And they did an excellent job."

British landing ships moving troops upriver to Paknam, near Bangkok.

Photo Credit - Cyril Roach, as found at The Memory Project

Please link to Audio: WRNS with a Link to Combined Operations

Story: The Mine - Difficult Manoeuvres, 1944

The Mine: LCI(L) 310, 264th Flotilla

By John T. Corcoran, AB (Able Bodies Seaman), RCNVR

Lyme Bay is west (left) of Weymouth, S. England. Poole is to the east,

near Bournemouth. Photo Credit - Travel the UK

The following story appears in a rare set of Canadian texts, compiled by David and Catherine (Kit) Lewis and Len Birkenes in the mid-1990s, entitled St. Nazaire to Singapore: The Canadian Amphibious War 1941 - 1945, (Volumes 1 and 2). Links to the set can be found on this site under the click-on Heading "Books re Combined Operations" (right hand margin). The books open by telling us they were inspired by Combined Operations by Clayton Marks of London, Ontario.

 The Mine by John T. Corcoran (Editted by David Lewis)

"It's strange how reading something like this (i.e., "Combined Operations", by C. Marks) opens other doors of past events that have been forgotten with the passing of time. One could recall a certain event, but it seems each one of us saw it in a different light, if he could recall it at all. This got me thinking about the mine incident outside Weymouth. I have been telling it as I saw it for forty-nine years. I may have added a bit now and then, but basically it was the truth. But to make sure, I checked my diary and one would think it a different event altogether. My diary must be wrong." Page 227

Mr. Corcoran (with, in GH's opinion, a big assist from David Lewis) then goes on to tell his story about the mine.

The story involves the Third Canadian Flotilla of landing crafts, after leaving their station in Southampton on March 24, 1944, and their participation in "difficult and advanced manoeuvres" - in the company of RN and US landing craft - in Lyme Bay near Portland.

Tank landing craft and infantry landing craft putting out to sea during

exercises near Portsmouth and Isle of Wight area. Photo taken on landing ship

infantry (LSI) EMPIRE MACE. Photo credit - WW2 Today

LCI(L) 310 was lead ship on a perfect day for exercises, upon water "still as a mill-pond." As they sailed east into intense reflections from the sun, Corcoran was amazed to behold such a large formation of Allied landing craft - and then - something else dead ahead. As bow lookout he began to jump up and down and wave his arms for attention.

"Then we saw it - 30 yards ahead - an ugly mine three quarters submerged."

No date is given in the recollection but an onboard diary reports:

April 8/44 - really dark - calm - hit something in water.

Too late to take evasive action (men aboard could only "wait and watch"), the craft hit the mine with the centre of the ship's flat-bottomed bow. LCI(L) 310 shuddered, "every rivet" seemed to shake, but the mine did not explode.

The mine rolled under the hull until it crashed and banged into the twin propellors. 310's stern jumped a bit, then the mine popped up 20 yards behind, with horns torn asunder and sporting fresh gashes from the props.

What to do? 310 was instructed to "Stay and protect" until an MTB (Motor Torpedo Boat) arrived to tow it back to a nearby Navy base.

The crew of LCI(L) 310 soon discovered they were unable to easily proceed with the exercise with severely damaged propellors. They were soon informed to "Proceed to HMS Turtle at Poole for inspection and repairs." Off they went in order to cover the distance of about 40 miles before dark.

Ship's staff soon learned (from an RN Intelligence Officer) that Germany had dropped "suspension mines at different depths" in Lyme Bay a few years earlier and the ones not cleared by minesweepers had since corroded and leaked but posed only a nuisance. We read, "He tells us that after we were scared out of ten years' growth!"

Rehearsal for D-Day, likely in S. England, on or near Lyme Bay

Photo as found in Combined Operations by C. Marks. Page 23

An onboard diary not only reveals the incident occurred in early April but repairs were not completed for 2 - 3 weeks.

The following is from the official accident report dated April 11, 1944 (perhaps submitted by Lt. David Lewis):

       ....The report of collision with a submerged object while carrying

       out night exercises with the 264th LCI(L) Flotilla. The extent of the

       damage is unknown at present and cannot be determined until ship

       is put in a slipway.... A good lookout was kept, a reliable rating on

       the forecastle head reports he did not see any object. LCI(L) 302

       passed through the same position a minute previously and neither

       saw nor hit any object.... 

By the time the crew of LCI(L) 310 returned to Southampton many signs of the vast buildup to D-Day Normandy were in evidence. 

We read, "It wasn't the same Southampton we left eight weeks earlier. Then it was comfortable.... but now it is jammed."

The last diary entry (May 18/44) states:

"With repairs completed and trials and manoeuvres finished, we returned to Southampton ready to conquer the world."

A bold statement, is it not, three weeks before D-Day Normandy?

Please link to the complete story by J. Corcoran and D. Lewis. Pages 227 - 229

Please note the Canadian Maple Leaf on Bill Gunther's metal helmet.
Photo as found in St. Nazaire to Singapore, Vol. 2, Page 226

Please link to Story: A Mediterranean Lighter Man

Unattributed Photos GH

Audio: WRNS with a Link to Combined Operations

Vivia Emily Stewart and Nora Oliver

Vivia Stewart (centre) and two Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS)

comrades, Dunoon, Scotland, 1943. Photo Credit - Vivia Stewart

Introduction: One will find hundreds of audio files related to the experiences of men and women associated with many branches of Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian organizations (e.g., Red Cross, CWAC, etc.) at The Memory Project. Most audio files are accompanied by authentic WW2 photos and a written transcript. 

The two audio files presented here relate to two women in jobs related to the Combined Operations organization, and in it would have crossed paths with Canadians in the same organization.

Please link to the audio file that recalls the memories of Vivia Emily Stewart.

Vivia was stationed with Combined Operations in Greenock, Scotland in the early days of WW2 and the first Canadians in Combined Ops arrived on the scene aboard the Volendam, a Dutch liner, in early 1942. She tells us she met her future husband there, John Stewart, a member of the Royal Canadian Navy.

As well, please link to the audio file that recalls the memories of Nora Oliver.

In her audio transcript we read:

"I went and did six-weeks training and then was fortunate enough to be posted to Lord Louis Mountbatten’s headquarters in London, where he was the Chief of Combined Operations. I stayed there until such time that he was moving on when he was made Supreme Allied Commander [of] Southeast Asia...."

She later moves to another position with Combined Ops in Delhi, India, again with Lord Louis Mountbatten and says, "....No sooner got settled in when Mountbatten could see that the Japanese were planning to invade and so we moved then down to what we knew as Ceylon but Sri Lanka now."

Nora married Mr. Oliver (a Canadian) after many years of correspondence and tells about her arrangements to come to Canada.

Portrait of Nora Oliver after she enlisted in WRNS

in December 1943. Photo Credit - Nora Oliver

Please link to Audio: Robert Stirling Recalls a Wet, D-Day Landing

Unattributed Photos GH

Books re Combined Operations - READY, AYE, READY

READY, AYE, READY

An Illustrated History of the Royal Canadian Navy

By Jack MacBeth

I came across a reference to this book in the rare, historical text, i.e., St. Nazaire to Singapore: Canada's Amphibious War 1941 -1945 (Volume 2) (about and by Canadians in Combined Operations). The reference was part of the introduction to a story entitled The Craft of Landing.

The aforementioned story appears in the book by Jack MacBeth along with many other stories and illustrations that may be of interest to readers searching for more information about the history of Canada's Royal Navy, including details concerning Canada's Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, the ships upon which Canadians served during WW2, excellent stories and illustrations (including rare paintings and drawings) about Canadian crews on corvettes and other ships, and a few details about the Canadians who served in Combined Operations.

I found my copy on AbeBooks for a decent price and enjoy having it, and others will feel the same. The paintings, illustrations and sketches are excellent and provide a point of view experienced by the 1000 members of Combined Ops at various times in their storied careers. Bold and broken ships are on view and captivating stories by and about our sailors are presented.

A sampling of details and captions that Canadians in Combined Ops could easily identify with in various situations:

Macbeth writes, "As D-Day approached, more than 100 RCN ships joined the massive invasion armada clogging harbours and anchorages all along England's south coast." Among the RCN ships one would see minesweepers, destroyers, corvettes and more, including about 30 LCI(L)s, i.e., Landing Craft, Infantry (Large). Crews were made up of almost 10,000 officers and ratings. Prince David and Prince Henry - two of our country's largest warships (formerly ocean going liners transformed to LCI(L)s) - were included in the armada. Page 126

Please link to the story The Craft of Landing found on Page 130.

Canadian Beach Commandos help unload landing craft on the

beaches of Normandy during the build-up following the D-Day assault. 

Photo - Canadian Forces Photographic Unit. Page 131 

The hard-luck ship HMCS St. Croix limps into Halifax in December 1941,

damaged by a hurricane. Photo - Maritime Museum of BC. Page 146

About the above photograph Jack Macbeth writes that the St. Croix was one of several WWI U.S. destroyers passed along to the Canadian Navy by the British Navy.

"Less than two years later, on September 20, 1943, she was torpedoed and sunk by U-305 south of Iceland." 

He reports that 81 men were saved by Itchen, an RN frigate, but all perished - save one - when Itchen was sent to the bottom two days later.

My father, Doug Harrison, writes about meeting the lone survivor while they served at Givenchy III (a Combined Operations training centre) on Vancouver Island, sometime between January 1944 and the summer of 1945.

He says, "Wm. Fischer, a stoker (not of combined ops but of R.C.N.V.R.), was stationed there (i.e., at Givenchy III). He had, I believe, an unequalled experience. He was on an Atlantic convoy run, on H.M.C.S. St. Croix, and one night in rough seas the St. Croix was sunk and he was the lone survivor (i.e., of the St, Croix, after Fischer's rescue by the Itchen and its subsequent loss). His life jacket had lights on and later he was picked up by the English ship H.M.S. Itchen. It in turn was torpedoed and Fischer was one of three survivors. They took him and his wife on saving bond tours, etc., but when he was asked to go to sea again, he said he would go to cells first. With an experience like that I would have too. He was lucky to be alive." ( From Navy Memoirs, D. Harrison)

Note: Other tellings of the tale of the two ships and William Fischer's astonishing survival can be found at The Virtual Museum and at For Posterity's Sake.

A sampling of photos, sketches and paintings one may not find elsewhere:

Members of the small assault landing craft carried on Prince David,
LCI(L). Combined Ops insignia appears faintly on two sleeves.
Photo - Maritime Museum of British Columbia. Page 66

Assault landing craft coming alongside HMCS Prince Henry during
preparations for Operation DRAGON in the Bay of Naples, August 1944.
Photo - G.A. Milne, National Archives Canada. Page 132

LCI(L) 115, one of 24 landing craft of this type loaned to
Canada by the US Navy expressly for use in the invasion of Normandy.
Photo - Collection of Ken Macpherson, Port Hope, ONT. Page 133

'Special Attraction': Sketch by G.S. Bagley.
Photo - Canadian War Museum. Page 83

 'Examination Officer Boarding Merchant Ship' by Donald C. Mackay.
Photo - Canadian War Museum. Page 26

I selected the above painting as an example of the fine work found in AYE, READY, AYE because just about every man piloting or travelling aboard a small landing craft would have felt dwarfed by the larger ships in their vicinity.

Recommended.

Please link to Books re Combined Ops - THE CANADIANS IN SICILY and ITALY 1943-1945 (3)

Unattributed Photos GH

Audio: Robert Stirling Recalls a Wet, D-Day Landing

We Finally Landed, They Dropped the Ramp Down

by Robert Stirling, Army

HMCS LCI(L)-118 of the 262nd Flotilla disembarking troops in NAN sector

of Juno Beach, Summer 1944. Photo - Robert Garand, The Memory Project

Introduction: One will find hundreds of audio files related to the experiences of men and women associated with many branches of Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian organizations (e.g., Red Cross, CWAC, etc.) at The Memory Project. Most audio files are accompanied by authentic WW2 photos and a written transcript.

Please link to the audio file that recalls the memories of Robert Stirling during the D-Day Normandy landings.

His story, which gives readers a vivid sense of what Canadians in Combined Operations would have witnessed on June 6, 1944, begins as follows:

"Just before D-Day, they moved everybody in the big tents. There was about eight guys to each tent, four on each side."

The men were surrounded by barbed wire and not allowed to leave the area for a few days unless given special permission and all that stuff. Meanwhile, there amassed in the surrounding towns in southern England all manner of trucks filled with the materials of war.

"All the ships that were involved in the D-Day landing were lined up all over the place. It was unbelievable," says Stirling.

He witnesses not only the build up of men and materials on dry land but also sees the departure and landings of ALCs. Soon, it is his turn to travel across the English Channel and disembark on Normandy's shores, likely from an LCI(L). We read the following from his audio transcript:

"And we finally landed, they dropped the ramp down; and I went to go out and I caught my heel on the last big lug at the end of the ramp and fell over backwards."

His task of keeping his Bren Gun [light machine gun] high and dry was made very difficult. Coils of the rope sailors were tugging - to anchor the landing craft - keep grabbing his arm and throwing him under the water. This happened repeatedly, making for a memorable day, for certain.

"Yeah, I finally got up," he says.

More details follow on the audio file.

Eye-witness accounts like the above may give readers an appreciation for the vastness of the D-Day enterprise.

Please link to Audio: Lysle Sweeting, Coxswain on an LCM