From Tracks Across Europe- Dal Estes
Time was lost for all of us and certainly all who were seasick forgot it as we headed for shore about 7:45am that morning. There was much disorder all along the beach - landing crafts were landing too far off shore, some were landing in the wrong zones, men were being separated from their units, many men were hit in the water and either died of the wounds or drowned.
Other men were trying to help the wounded only to get hit themselves. Salvos of artillery, rocket fire, machine gun, mortar and rifle fire continued from the Germans above us down onto the beach, and it was simple to see we had to make the shelter of the cliffs as soon as possible....and then up on top as soon as the exit was cleared of mines, etc.
Our two squads hung together as much as possible but our medic was killed almost three minutes after we hit the beach - mortar fire from the bluffs above got him. Our radio man had both legs shot off and although our dentist attempted to stop the flow of blood, he died a little later that day. Wounded that day was Staff. Sgt. Greenlee, who had raised many of us green privates into a fighting family, through his back country Tennessee wisdom. He later returned to our unit.
Needless to say, we were pinned down on the beach and, although we kept moving our half-tracks always toward the beach exit, we had to find cover under burned-out tanks, under a load of airport landing strip metal matting.
(Dal Estes, Tracks Across Europe)
Present Day photo below of the bluffs from which the Germans watched the Allies land.
Next Up: DDay Memories, Part 3
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