D-Day 1944

Brave Men | 1944 | Ernie Pyle

[PAR35]

The only thing that Germans ( MIGHT ?? ) could have matched the USS Texas 14 inch guns could have been the huge guns the Germans had on railroad cars.

Well, the folks on the bridge when the 11 inch shell from a shore battery hit on June 26 might disagree a bit with you. You might have a point as to the 9.4 inch shell that entered the compartment below the wardroom.

But, let me dig around, because even that isn't quite responsive to your comment.

The Germans also used 13.4 inch guns taken from French battleships in shore emplacements. The French gun would throw an AP shell weighing just over 1200 lbs. The Texas could throw a shell of about 1400 lbs.

[XR7]

RE: #38

Thank you for that link.

[centexan]

Ernie Pyle bump in memory of Captain Waskow

[snuffy smiff]

Heros all that day.

And I thank God that He made such men.

[hinckley buzzard]

The other day I talked with a man who went ashore on D-day plus 1. Like Pyle he was stunned by the vastness of the debris and the scope of the enterprise. He had initially been assigned to training as a turret gunner on the B17 but after a fire on board during training, he refused to fly again. So they made him a machine gunner and assigned to the infantry. His unit married up with Patton's Third Army and he made it clear to the Elbe, shook hands with Russian troops.

In civilian life he had been a club singer and musician. He was 19 years old when he enlisted.

[redstates4ever]

Thanks for this. I think Brave Men should be required reading in our high schools (I can dream, can’t I?)

[Titan Magroyne]

bfl

[Redbob]

When I was in school, “Gallant Men” was a TV show - can you imagine such a thing now?