“[In the forward most landing crafts] packs were being fastened. There was a stream of curses as straps soaked with sea water refused to come buckled. Six inches of bilge, compounded of water and vomit, sloshed forward and aft. Ahead, now visible, in the dank morning light, was the 500-yard-wide beach. still partially shrouded by artillery fire and aerial bombardment. Their first objective would be the retaining wall along the dunes flanking the beach…”
“‘Down ramp!‘ shouted the coxswain from the elevated stern.”
“Down it came with a clank and splash. Ahead – and it seemed at that moment miles off – stretched the sea wall… We missed our allotted place on the beach by about 800 yards because some of the boats were so water-logged that they couldn’t complete the up-beach run… Now the 88s were raking the beach with murderous accuracy, picking out the largest clusters of men and the biggest boats… The beach was swarming with men and vehicles. Two holes had been blown in the sea wall by the businesslike Army Engineers, veterans of Sicily and Salerno.”
Click here to read further about the D-Day invasion…
Crawford also reported from the battlefields of North Africa…
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