D-Day Presentation by: Jaycie Joslin & Christina novak

Utah Beach Personal Story

A veteran from D-Day, James Nannini and his division landed at Utah beach on June 6th, 1944. He said as he was getting down from the boat he can recall hearing a constant roar from the airplanes overhead as the bombers were making their rounds. James said he will never forget seeing the USS Texas battleship next to him shooting at the shore right next to his ship. He remembered the sorrow and discomfort he felt from seeing the first deceased American. He made it to shore and did active duty until June 25th, when he was wounded and rushed to the nearest hospital 3.

Omaha Beach Personal Story

A man named Sgt. Ray Lambert was the first wave to hit the Omaha beach. Lambert talked about how he could remember when he was about a thousand yards from shore, him and his men could hear the sound of the machine guns being fired at them. During this he talked about his men getting into the water and how they either drowned from not being able to swim well or being shot. Lambert said the boat next to them blew up, and many of the men caught fire. Only seven of the thirty-one men on his boat survived this horrific day. Lambert was severely wounded on D-Day, and so was his Cpt. They both were very surprised to see each other at the reunion 4.

U.S. Troop Landings:

Omaha Beach:

Omaha was the bloodiest battle from D’Day, because of the steep cliffs and how heavily defended it was by the German troops. Around 2,400 U.S. troops turned up dead, wounded or went missing. It also was in the early morning on June 6, 1944. The first mistake the U.S made was underestimating the amount of German soldiers defending the area. The aerial bombardment also caused a little effect on German troops, and only 2 of the 29 amphibious tanks launched made it to the shoreline. Those U.S. soldiers were then shot at and killed by German machine-guns. The General Omar Bradley almost abandoned the mission, because of how severe and gruesome the operation had failed. Slowly his men ended up making it acrossed the beach to the safety zone at the seawall that was planned. U.S warships moved close to the shore to shoot at the German troops. By night, the U.S had accomplished to make a toehold about 1.5 miles deep 1.

Utah Beach:

In the early morning on June 6, 1944, U.S paratroopers fell on the shore right behind the enemies line. Many of the men drowned in this process because of the heavy equipment or were shot down from the sky. Many of the paratroopers did not land where they were they planned. Some landed about a mile away from where they were supposed to land because of the strong currents. Even though it wasn’t planned, they were lucky because the area was less protected. So they began their four mile march from there, and suffered from losing a few casualties in this process. They accomplished to seize the four causeways that was the beach’s only exit points.

Works Cited:

"Landing at Normandy: The 5 Beaches of D-Day." History.com. June 6, 2014. Accessed May 7, 2015.

"The 101st Airborne Division During WW II - Overview." The 101st Airborne Division During WW II - Overview. Accessed May 7, 2015.

"Military.com Content." Military.com Content. Accessed May 7, 2015.

"D-Day Survivors Tell Their Stories." Tribunedigital-chicagotribune. June 6, 2004. Accessed May 7, 2015.

"Maxwell Davenport Taylor, General, United States Army." Maxwell Davenport Taylor, General, United States Army. Accessed May 7, 2015.

"D-Day Overview." National D-Day Memorial. Accessed May 7, 2015.

Casualties for Allies:

The Allied Forces had suffered nearly 10,00 casualties; more than 4,00 were dead. Yet, somehow, due to planning and preparation, and due to the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of the Allied Forces, Fortress Europe had been breached 6.

101st Airborne Personal Story

101st Airborne

The airborne division was activated at Camp Claiborne in Louisiana. General William C. Lee was in command. With the 101st designated as an airborne division, all that remained was to train its soldiers to qualify for their new mission. In the spring of 1943, the division was ready to face its first test in local maneuvers. The 101st Airborne Division first saw combat during the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944. They were given the mission of anchoring the corps’ southern flank, and also to eliminate the German’s secondary beach defenses, allowing the seaborne forces of the 4th Infantry Division, once ashore, to continue inland. The screaming eagles were to capture the causeway bridges that ran behind the beach between St. Martin-de-Varreville and Pouppeville. In the division’s southern sector, it was to seize the la Barquette lock and destroy a highway bridge northwest of the town of Carentan and a railroad bridge further west and at the same time, elements of the division were to establish two bridgeheads on the Douve River at le Port, northeast of Carentan. As the assault force approached the French coast, it encountered fog and anti aircraft fire, which forced some of the planes to break formation causing paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division to miss their landing zones and were scattered over wide areas. By nightfall, soldiers from the 101st had secured the beach exits in their zone and contacted the landing forces of the 4th division. Two days after the enemy was stopped and the town was held, the VIII Corps became operational and the 101st was reassigned to the new headquarters. The mission now was to establish defensive positions across the Cotentin Peninsula. The 101st was relieved from the VIII Corps and sent to Cherbourg to relieve the 4th Infantry Division. The 101st remained as the First Army reserve until mid-July, when it returned to England for rest and training. During the last days of the war, the 101st Airborne Division was in Berchtesgaden, Adolph Hitler’s vacation retreat. The airborne soldiers spend their days hunting members of the Nazi leadership that had gone into hiding and on August 1st the 42d Infantry Division relieved the 101st, which moved back to France to train for a possible airborne assault on Japan. These plans were canceled after the Japanese surrender, and the division was deactivated on November 30, 1945 in France 2.

After the 101st’s founder and commander Major General Bill Lee suffered a heart attack, General Maxwell Davenport Taylor was given command of the Division. Taylor was the first Allied general to land in France on D-Day. He held command of the 101st Airborne Division for the rest of the war, but missed out leading the division during its most famous conflict, the Battle of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, because he was attending a staff conference in the United States. When he received temporary promotion to Major General in May 1944 and commanded the 101st Airborne Division in the Normandy invasion and the Western European campaigns, he was promoted to permanent Lieutenant Colonel in June 1945, and Brigadier General in January 1948. From 1945 to 1949 he was superintendent of West Point, afterwards he was the commander of allied troops in Berlin from 1949 to 1951. His post-World War II career involved many major assignments like superintendent of West Point, Commander of the Eigth Army in Korea, Army Chief of Staff, Special Military Advisor to President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Ambassador to Vietnam. He died on April 19, 1987 and was buried in Section 7-A of Arlington National Cemetery, just a short distance from the Memorial Amphitheater and the Tomb of the Unknowns 5.

D-Day Presentation by: Jaycie Joslin & Christina novak