Folks don’t realize how many jumped off the boat ramps, and sank to the bottom, drowning. The human cost was staggering.
It is said that a total of only 200 men, working in small groups, led the breakout from the beach that day. Their heroism, and the heroism of all who took part in the invasion, will be spoken of for centuries.
God rest them, their loved ones, and their memory.
Rommel flooded the fields behind the beaches. We had some airborne troops drown in two feet of water. My Pop also saw the paratroopers killed when they came down over St. Mere Eglese, whose bodies were hanging in the trees and on buildings.