American Valor Quarterly Issue 6 - Spring/Summer 2009 | Page 16

direct approach to the beach making us a smaller target at that
point, or the Germans may have been instructed to hold their
fire until we were in the water and coming ashore. The coxswain
did a superb job. I heard later that he actually took some of the
wounded back on his return to the Samuel Chase.

Operation Neptune consisted of the assault phase of the Normandy
invasion. More than 5,000 ships took part in the largest single-day
amphibious operation of all time.

I felt things then that I would later recognize as responsibility. I
felt that getting as many men off as possible, and into positions
of safety on the beach, and in formation was the greatest concern.
On the last look over the side, seconds before the ramp went
down, I saw many motionless bodies at the water’s edge. I saw
wounded struggling with the rough surf. I saw men kneeling and
lying in the water with only their heads exposed for the protection
it gave them. I believe these men were frozen with fear, unable to
move because they began to move closer to the beach with the
incoming tide. They were of no use at that point because they
had no weapons. They just crowded the beach more, hindering
movement. On this last look I decided what to do when the
ramp went down. I told the two Squad Leaders to fan out and
go straight in.

the way we practiced it. Now this was the real thing.

There was a huge pillbox to our right at beach level and at the base
I could see things were going wrong as we slowed down to go of a steep bluff. To our front a draw that I believe was designated
in. Some boats were coming back after unloading, others were as “E1” on our map. To our left front a rounded hill with the pond
partly awash, but still struggling. Some were stuck, bottomed out, at its base that we were told in training we would have to cross.
racing their motors and getting nowhere. Some were backing up
short distances and trying again. The timing for the craft to land at The pillbox had large chunks of concrete blown out just above
intervals was as much awash as the storm. When we landed some its left front aperture. It had wisps of powder smoke still visible.
of the assault wave was landing with us. We were supposed to land Direct fire from the Navy had just ended. I heard the shells whistle
twenty minutes after the assault wave. Afterwards it was established in and land close as we landed and I believe they had hit the pillbox.
that the assault wave was late and we were early. Confusion doesn’t
really describe it. Landing in this order did qualify our company It was quite a coincidence that I met a man last year that was on
as an assault wave and gave us another Bronze Arrowhead for a destroyer during this time. John A. Fonner, Jr. of Largo, Florida
our ETO Ribbon and an Oak Leaf Cluster for our Unit Citation. was an observer on the control tower of a destroyer assigned to
give infantry support; shore observers called in most of their
I was looking over the side often during these last minutes. We were targets. They couldn’t see through the dust and smoke to deliver
moving slo