[xzins]

“The guns were about a mile inland from the cliff,” says Lomell. “I had never seen howitzers that big before. They seemed huge — high wheels, large, long barrel pointed skyward, too high to reach. I was on a two-man patrol with my platoon sergeant, Jack Kuhn. It was about 8:15 D-Day morning. The guns were in an apple orchard, completely camouflaged with netting and trees. Although Pointe du Hoc itself had been cratered by a long period of heavy bombardment and shellfire, this inland position showed no craters. It was obviously an alternate position for the guns.