Pointe du Hoc
June 6 1944,
I scanned
the hold of the large LCA landing craft that I had so hastily boarded 10
minutes earlier. Fellow members of the 2nd Ranger Battalion's Fox
Company surrounded me. Rangers young and old, from every part of the United States
were huddled together, awaiting "pending doom" as one NCO had stated earlier.
Fox Company, along with Dog and Easy Companies were awarded the task of
silencing the mighty German guns on Pointe du Hoc. At Pointe du Hoc, four miles
west of Omaha Beach, the Germans had constructed a fortified position for a
coastal battery of six 155-mm howitzers of French make; four guns were in open
emplacements and two were casemated Should the Rangers fail to destroy the guns
on the point, they could rain havoc on Omaha beach. The casualties would be
catastrophic. The Point was a hard spot to hit, due to the fact that we would
have to scale a 100-meter high cliff. This required us to train hard in England
for the preceding 3 months.
The sound
of waves crashing against the side of the LCA were dwarfed only by the sound of
artillery shells passing overhead. Each passing shell was accompanied by an
intimidating scream that seemed to get louder every time. I flinched as shells
crashed into the ocean, causing salty water to rain down upon me and the other
men in the landing craft. As the boat neared the shore the USS Texas lifted her
fire. German shells however, still rained down upon us, now with greater
accuracy. I watched one shell hit a landing craft directly, sending flames,
debris and sadly, human body parts flying into the air in a haze of bloody red
mist which spayed the bulkheads of our LCA. The landing craft was filled with
men from Easy Company. My landing craft occupied the far left flank of Fox
Company. I was the commander of Charlie
Platoon. The LCA was 10 seconds from landing on the beach.
"Get those hooks ready!" I ordered. "Keep your actions clear
and haul ass to the foot of that cliff. Get up there quick and keep your
weapons ready. Those Krauts aren't going to give us those guns."
The boat
slowed to a halt at the shoreline. 7.92mm rounds from the MG42s and MG34s
guarding the rocky cliffs whipped overhead, but the artillery fire had lifted,
the run to the wall wouldn't be too difficult, provided I keep my head down. A
whistle sounded like a siren. The front of the boat was lowered to the sandy
beach. I didn't take the time to exit through the front of the boat. I hopped
over the side of the boat into the shallow water. The liquid soaked into my
service leggings and filled my boots. I remained dry for the most part. I
raised up my M-1 Carbine and ripped it from it's water-proof plastic bag. I
could hear people yelling and giving orders. The crackling of gunfire and the
screams of wounded and dying men filled the air. I watched in dismay as fellow
Rangers were assaulted with machinegun fire. One man ran to join me behind some
fallen rocks at the foot of the cliff, but was cut down by a gray clad machine
gunner at the top of the cliff. The rounds traced across his chest puncturing
his body. The impact of the rounds hitting his body threw the man onto his
back. Blood squirted from the dime sized wounds, but was mostly absorbed by his
clothing. The man fell to the ground, throwing his M-1 Garand rifle to the ground
in front of himself. I looked up to see the machine gunner, who had now
acquired a new target. I raised my Carbine to my shoulder and took aim on the
gunner. I squeezed off three 7.62 mm rounds from the 15 round clip in my rifle.
2 of the rounds hit the dirt mound that he was covering behind. The third round
hit him in the neck. The man rose to his feet clasping his bleeding neck. He
stumbled forward and fell off the rocky edge of the cliff. The man plunged 100
meters to the beach and hit the sand no more than 5 meters away from me. 6 men,
including a Sergeant from my platoon found there way to my position and joined
me.
"What now sir?" The Sergeant asked.
"We have to get up that cliff." I replied, "Do we have any
grapnel launchers?"
"No Sir." The Sergeant answered, "Craft was gunned down on
the beach, He was the one with the launcher."
"Well, lets see if we can find a rope."
"Yes Sir, we'll try to find a launcher." The Sergeant
explained.
I stood up
and made a break for the foot of the cliff. The 6 Rangers accompanying me
headed off in another direction to find a grapnel launcher. I glanced upwards
to see if any of the ropes were left intact. I found one on the cliff that was
still being climbed by a BAR gunner. I grabbed the rope and steadied it for the
gunner. He looked down and threw me a salute and a nod. I returned his nod. He
reached the top of the cliff and immediately sought cover behind a rock. I put
a foot on the cliff and began scaling the100 meter wall. The climb was
surprisingly easy, probably due to the extensive training we received in
England. I took some light fire from a few KAR98s at the top of the cliff. But
the Bar gunner above me kept them down behind the rocks with a volley of his
own fire. I reached the top of the cliff and ran to join the BAR gunner who had
climbed the wall before me. He sent a blaze of covery fire in the direction of
a machine gun nest that could have easily cut me down in my tracks.
"Thanks for the cover." I said to the man. I noticed the two
chevrons on the man's arm
"Thanks for joining me Sir." The Corporal replied.
I glanced over towards the machine
gun that had been harassing us. I noticed a shell crater to the direct right of
the nest. The two men manning the machine gun had temporarily stopped firing,
in order to change ammunition belts. I took this opportunity to make a beeline
for the crater. The Corporal with the BAR followed me. We fired from the hip
towards the Germans in order to cover our move. The frantically fumbled with
the action of the MG-42 but it was jammed up, due to their hurried reload. One
German raised an MP-40 and unleashed a few rounds; the 9mm bullets whipped
passed us and flew into the ground, kicking up dirt and rock. I stopped briefly
to take aim and fire at the Kraut. I put 2 rounds into the man. The rounds
ripped into him and created 2 steaming wounds in his chest. I began running
towards the crater again. The Corporal had already begun firing at the
remaining German. I ran quickly and slid, baseball style into the crater. I
hunkered down to cover myself from the array of lead passing above. I stripped
off my mussette bag and threw it to the ground beside me. Its contents were
useless to me and only caused an uncomfortable increase in weight. I rolled
onto my Stomach and joined the BAR gunner beside me in assaulting the lone
German Machine gunner. I fired off rounds, spontaneously in the direction of
the gunner until I heard a click.
"Got any Pineapples?" I asked the Corporal, while inserting
a15 round clip into my Carbine.
"Yes Sir, I have two of 'em left."
"Well then, Lets put'em to use."
The
Corporal nodded his head in agreement and withdrew one of the green hand held
explosives from the harness of his webbing. He removed the pin from the grenade
and lobbed it directly into the nest. Without hesitation the German Private
tossed the grenade back. Expecting such an action, I caught the grenade and
whipped it at the gunner. The grenade struck him in the helmet, knocking him to
the ground. An explosion followed less than a second later, killing the man
instantly. I rose cautiously, to my feet and scanned the smoking nest. I edged
toward it, never lowering my firearm. I reached the sandbag nest and was
greeted with the site of the dead German. He had been decapitated. His gray
matter was blasted onto the sandbag wall that was covering him from enemy fire.
I waved to the Corporal signifying that it was safe to proceed. He ran to join
me behind the sandbags. Two German KAR98s opened up on the young Corporal as he
ran. Both rounds missed and I answered back in his favor with 5 rounds from my
own rifle. The 5 rounds traveled into one of the German soldiers knocking him
to his backside. The wounds weren't lethal and the remaining soldier made an
attempt to drag his friend to safety. The Corporal let loose a volley of 7.62mm
ammunition into the two Germans, striking both of them down.
"Thanks Sir." The Corporal said gratefully.
"Don't mention it."
I peeked over the sandbags to see
the opposition that awaited us. The Point was heavily fortified with machine
gun nests and communication trenches. There were about 150 infantrymen guarding
the 6 massive 155s. The several bunkers however were still vulnerable to hand
grenades.
As I was scanning the objective in
front of me, 5 German soldiers emerged from a communications trench. The
Corporal and I opened up on them, Dropping 3 immediately. The other 2 men hit
the dirt. One of the men dropped his MP40, it went skidding across the rocky
terrain and fell into another trench. I leaped over the sandbags and rushed the
2 men. The German that still had rifle took aim on me. I raised my rifle and
squeezed the trigger. I heard a click, the worst sound a combat soldier could
hear. I flinched as I heard a gunshot. I thought I was a dead man. I felt
nothing. I glanced down at the Kraut to see blood leaking from his helmet. I
glanced back at the smiling Corporal who gave me a wave. I was so relieved that
I completely forgot about the disarmed German. The man rushed towards me and
tackled me. My Carbine flew from my grip and landed in a mound of dirt. The man
was yelling as he made attempts at choking me. I tried to free his hands from
my neck but it didn't work. He was a large man, much stronger than I, so I did
the first thing that came to mind. A formed a "V for Victory" sign with my
index and middle finger. The German glanced down to see what I was doing. I
used this opportunity to strike. I jabbed the man in the eyes with my fingers.
He immediately removed his hands from my neck and clasped his eyes this left
his chest wide open, I punched him in the sternum. The large Kraut coughed and
rolled to the ground gasping for air. I stood up and began kicking him
repeatedly in the ribs and chest. I heard several cracks and breaks. The man
had ceased to move. He was dead, and with good cause. I don't think that anyone
in the world could sustain such a beating. I turned around to obtain my rifle.
I moved keeping my head down, to the unintentionally discarded firearm and
picked it up. I wiped the dirt off.
"You sure he's dead Sir?" the Corporal asked, still firing
at the opposing forces, which had now been pushed as far as the third cannon.
The first 2 had already been destroyed. "Maybe you should put one in him."
"Your right Corporal." I remarked.
I made my
way back to the body and knelt down beside it. I withdrew my Colt M1911A1 from
its holster on my right hip. The hammer of the pistol made a click as it locked
back. I directed the barrel towards his head. I hesitated for a second and the
pulled the smooth metallic trigger, unleashing a .45 caliber round into the
man's head. Blood shot out in every direction.
"Let's get back in the fight." I said to the Corporal.
We made a
beeline to the fourth gun, which awaited destruction. The Germans had been pushed
back into a large communications tent beside the forth gun and we intended to
take up a position on their right flank. Our fire would provide an opportunity
for the specialists to place their explosives in the mighty emplacement. When
we arrived at our destination on the right flank of the remaining 60 or so
German troops, we hit the dirt and opened up. I squeezed off 2 rounds into a
German Felwebel that was quite menacing with his STG44 in hand. The man
collapsed as the rounds found their way into his chest. The Corporal beside me
sprayed a collection of lead from his BAR putting down 4 men. I acquired
another target. A Kraut Hauptmann was shouting orders and motioning with his
P38 pistol, in the direction of our fellow Rangers. I pulled the trigger once,
sending a round into his chest. The round hit his heart, causing it to explode.
He went down with a surprised look on his face. The Corporal heaved his
remaining grenade into the trench. A couple of soldiers recognized the grenade
but it was too late for them. They screamed as the grenade went off, killing
them and about 5 men beside them, seriously injuring several more. I extended
an arm out and removed a Stielhandgrenate from the detached torso of a dead
German beside me. I armed the explosive and lobbed it into the trench. It went
off taking several Germans with it. I emptied the remaining 7.62x33mm rounds in
my clip at a collection of retreating Germans. The line the Germans formed on
their hasty retreat provided ample opportunity to place my shots well. My
rounds claimed the lives of 6 German Wehrmacht soldiers. The remaining Germans
retreated as the Corporal and I reloaded. Several of the Krauts were found by
the .30 caliber rounds of a couple of M1919A1 medium machine guns that had been
carried onto the Point by Dog Company. One German soldier ran right up the side
of the trench to where the Corporal and I were standing. He stopped and raised
his KAR98 at the Corporal; He was going for the BAR. I threw my carbine to the
ground, withdrew my pistol and put 3 rounds into the Krauts chest. He fell
dead, to the ground.
"Now we're even." I assured him.
"Thanks Sir."
The
Corporal and I finished reloading as the fourth and fifth guns were blown. We
headed off in the direction of the fast advancing 2nd Ranger
Battalion. As we met up with the rest of Fox Company, the sixth gun was blown.
That was it all the 155s were gone. I squeezed 2 more rounds of into a
retreating Kraut; he fell wounded in both legs. The remaining Germans saw no
point in continuing the fight. After all we had destroyed the guns that they
were supposed to protect. They threw up their hands and white flags wherever
they stood. The guns were gone, and the casualties were lower than expected.
This day belonged to the 2nd Ranger Battalion. I hoped that we'd do
as well on Utah and Omaha.
"You two," A voice yelled. "You two men."
"Us Sir?" I asked
"Yes" The man, replied, I could easily identify the man as
Lieutenant Colonel James Rudder, A soldiering officer who sat well with his men
and was viewed as a sort of role model by myself and several combat officers
like me. "I saw you two on the flank, you guys really saved our asses up there,
nice shooting. What're your names?"
"Sir, I'm Lieutenant Robert Ware"
"Corporal Jack Briggs."
"You two have done a hell of a job, and I'll see you both
decorated." He shook our hands and headed towards the Prisoner taking operation
that was under way, yelling orders and puffing on a large Cigar.
