Today, June 6th, is the 79th anniversary of D Day. There may be a few survivors of that great battle still alive, but memories must be preserved now by the descendants of those who took part in one of the defining events of the last century, indeed of Western Civilization. Here is what I can offer:
My father served in the US Navy during WWII, and was at Normandy on the destroyer CARMICK as a fire control man (running one of the big guns). He never spoke about what he went through that day, other than to mention in passing that the ship probably shot down a German plane. In fact, he said very little about any of his wartime experiences, other than an occasional light anecdote about the food, or a stop in the Mediterranean when he went ashore and saw some of the ancient ruins. Nothing about the horrific side of his service.
Here’s the ship’s service record during the war and after, via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Carmick This is what the Wikipedia article says about the ship’s combat experience:
On 6 June (D-Day), she took station guarding the flanks of the leading ships off Omaha Beach, acting as antisubmarine and anti-E-boat screen. As the infantrymen began to move ashore, Carmick provided pin-point gunfire support, knocking out enemy strongpoints. She remained off the beachhead through 17 June, firing against enemy air attacks and guarding the great numbers of ships moving into the area to support forces ashore. On 10 June, she splashed a Heinkel bomber.
Screening duty in the English Channel preceded Carmick’s departure for the Mediterranean on 18 July 1944. Convoy duty in connection with the buildup for the invasion of southern France continued until 15 August, the day of the preliminary attacks on the coast between Toulon and Cannes. Once more Carmick was in the van of the invasion fleet, with duties similar to those she had at Normandy. Her constant vigilance was rewarded 18 August, when she destroyed an enemy E-boat. She supported the consolidation of the beachhead by convoy escort duty in the western Mediterranean until 23 September, when she cleared for New York City.
I should mention that many years ago I had occasion to visit the USS CASSIN YOUNG, another WWII-era destroyer, and see for myself just how cramped and spartan those ships were. Although the CARMICK was a Gleaves class destroyer and the CASSIN YOUNG was a Fletcher class, I daresay the experience for the sailors aboard must have been pretty much the same. Hard to imagine how hellish it must have been with the guns firing, from the ship herself and from all the ships around her.
My uncle’s big day was two years before. He was transport officer for the South Saskatchewan Regiment, which landed at Dieppe in 1942. As transport officer, one of his duties was tracking all the casualties as the SSR reloaded on the boats after the disaster.
He never spoke of that, but it was a huge part of his life as a young Prairie boy going overseas.
I get the feeling that a lot of veterans from that war preferred to leave the memories as far behind as they could. I think we who’ve grown up insulated from the realities of war can’t grasp just how horrific it must have been.
A lot of veterans since or even today have the same experience.
~20 years ago I was a 40-something corporate dude with a 50-something worker in my department. He’d been a mortuary affairs enlisted Marine in Viet Nam in the middle of everything. The guys who stack, count, search, and catalog the bodies (or chunks) for shipment back to the USA.
I was a veteran at the time of a later period of relative peace, but still some bad shit.
The scars are forever. Really. Vince, wherever you are, I hope you’re coping OK.
Back in the mid-70’s I met my husband’s maternal grandfather, who was a WW1 veteran. He told a lot of funny stories about the time in between fighting, but only spoke of one battle casualty, when his best friend was killed. He said he didn’t like to remember the battles.
Ever seen the TV series “Apocalypse: World War I”? It starts with the leadup to the war and takes one in depth through the whole bloody, awful, insane misery through contemporary photographs and films, with viewpoints on both sides, in all classes of society, from the grunts and the armaments workers to the upper echelons making disastrous decisions.
I’m sure the Germans also learned some valuable lessons, though fortunately not enough – especially with Hitler removing resources from the D Day area for other purposes.
Yes, it’s extraordinary, in no small part because of the cynical narration. I don’t normally watch stuff like that, and I found it mesmerizing. I’ll still rewatch episodes whenever it’s on.
Anyway, that’s just TV, and you’re talking about something much bigger.
For quite some time, I’ve wanted to go there alone to spend some time on and around those beaches.
My relatives were driving tanks across North Africa and designing airplanes. But let us never forget those who fought for our freedom, nor let us now mimimize these democratic values which have brought us prosperity, productivity and progress.