My dad was a 22 year old LT (j.g.) in charge of an LCT (Landing Craft, Tank) on Utah Beach. If you've seen "Band of Brothers", the second episode, those guns were firing on Utah Beach.
My dad didn't have tanks, he had an Army engineer company with bulldozers and TNT.
He was XO on an LST (Landing Ship, Tank), somewhere around the Panama Canal, headed for the Pacific when the war ended.
Lost a close 1st cousin in 2018. 93. Navy. Was gunner on PT and Crash boats in South Pacific. Saw lots of action and shot down at least one Japenese plane (a "Jake"). Received Navy Commendation Medal from Admiral Nimitz himself. Freely talked and wrote of his experiences. Was professional boxer for awhile after discharge. (I might add that all us male cousins of that generation are vets...some of us too young for WW2.)
