My father landed in one of the first waves at Utah (1st Special Engineering Brigade). His job was to clear mines and blow up obstacles. He said the landing was a little rough, but the Salerno landing was worse for him. His company (Company C) got hit real hard there. He was pinned down between a tank and machine gun nest for more than a day. He was reported to his family as being MIA.
He was also in the North Africa campaign, and the Battle of the Bulge. On the Normandy invasion, he recounted how he thought it was all over at Saint Lo when the US air force accidentally bombed his outfit. He never talked much about operation Tiger (preceding the invasion) where his company was also hit hard. A monument was erected at Normandy to honor those from his outfit that lost their lives.
Thank you for your father’s service !