Unloading on Omaha Beach
by Carroll Turner
of the 348th Engineers
Lieutenant Carroll Turner was with the Third Platoon, Company A, 348th ECB
"Considering that the invasion of Normandy involved the greatest amphibious invasion force in history it's not surprising that most accounts of D-Day itself are about Naval Ships and the ubiquitous landing craft. US Army Lieutenant Carroll Turner was with the Third Platoon, Company A, 348th Engineer Combat Battalion and his perspective on the invading force was seaward from Omaha Beach. His job was to offload supplies from Landing Craft Tank (LCTs), across the sand and into dump trucks for distribution to the troops.
In November of 1943 his company moved to Swansea, Wales. He had many happy memories and friendships including one of a British family who happened to know the special significance of Thanksgiving to a soldier from the United States. He was invited to dinner in the course of which he produced some corn kernels his mother had sent from home. Despite severe shortages, frying fat was found and heated up and the kernels thrown in. The family was amazed when popcorn filled the pan as if from nowhere... something they'd never seen before.
In the spring [possibly April] of 1944 the Company moved from Swansea to the New Forest on the south coast of England. The trees provided cover from the unwelcome attentions of enemy aircraft but it was very damp and cold! Out of 201 troops and 7 Officers only 32 reported for duty one day, the remainder being confined to barracks with colds and pneumonia.
By the end of May Lieutenant Turner's Company were informed of their role in the forthcoming invasion although not the timing or location. Their job was to receive supplies from landing craft and to transport them across the beach to trucks. The impression was given that German resistance would be softened up by bombing and shelling and that it would be an easy walk ashore.
The men were issued with special invasion currency for France and Belgium before they went ashore. They boarded LSTs, which were "loaded to the gunnels" with trucks and heavy equipment. The LSTs were capable of 10 mph but with 'Rhino Ferries' in tow this was reduced to 3 mph. The Rhino Ferries were constructed of 4' x 4' x 6' welded steel plates with a diesel engine to the rear. Each had an operator and carried around 28 vehicles.
In the early morning of June 6th the Battleship USS Texas fired her 14-inch guns towards the German positions. The knowledge that each shell cost $10,000, a huge sum of money in 1944, brought home to Lieutenant Turner the great significance of the events that were about to unfold and of which he was a part.
As dawn broke the troops descended rope ladders down the side of their LSTs into LCVPs (Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel) which would take them on to the beaches. The rough sea and swell made the transfer difficult with their 40 lb packs on their backs. Lieutenant Turner's platoon was to land at Omaha Easy Red beach. The LCVPs and DUKWS (an amphibian vehicle) patrolled up and down the landing area but could not find a suitable place to land. The water was full of bodies and debris and, despite early reassurance to the contrary, enemy machine gun fire was heavy. Before the beach was declared available for off loading, dead bodies were removed up the hill to where the cemetery is now located. 620 bodies were moved that day which had a profound and lasting effect on the men concerned.
Omaha Beach in the afternoon of D Day
The Infantry and Troops landed on D-Day + 1. In one area they opened the door of a bunker to reveal the frightened faces of men and boys. They were from Eastern Europe and Russia, conscripted into the German Army. They had no desire to fight. They just wanted to be taken prisoner to get a meal and a place to sleep. They had little allegiance to the German Army.
With two bulldozers and two cranes in place and dump trucks ready to receive supplies the platoon was soon set up and ready for action. LSTs unloaded supplies into cargo nets which were picked up by the cranes and lifted into dump trucks. Early loads included barbed wire, TNT and mines. That night German 88 mm shells landed close by but failed to hit their target. Another early load comprised four tons of beef which warranted an extra guard on duty.
Since Lieutenant Turner was a Junior Officer, he was on night duty from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Difficult though it was he tried to get some sleep during the day.
US troops march up the beachhead while landing craft continue to unload supplies, equipment and men, 8th June 1944.
The work of unloading about 650 to 800 tons of materials for each of the six Battalions was hard; the idea was to keep the cranes and dump trucks going 24/7. Between June 7th and August 31st they unloaded over 300 LSTs, some LCTs and ‘dumb barges". In mid June the weather turned stormy and for several days no LSTs could cross the Channel. The supply chain was severely disrupted and by the time the storm broke ammunition and food was in short supply.
The objective was to unload, and where appropriate load, the landing craft on the same tide but this was not always possible causing some vessels to be beached high and dry until the next tide. Usually three to six LSTs would be unloaded at a time.
Omaha Beach from shore, 10 June 1944
Several weeks after D-Day the Army men had gathered enough dunnage (rough lumber used to stabilize shipments) to build a Mess Hall. The Troops appreciated eating at a table instead of individual K-Rations. Lieutenant Turner had also acquired enough wood from containers to allow carpenters to build an 'office' with space for his paperwork and a couple of beds. Some of his troops used stone walls, which in France mark field boundaries, as the sides of makeshift shelters simply by throwing a tarpaulin over them. The area at the base of the walls provided enough space and cover for them to rest and sleep regardless of the weather.
LSTs unloading at low tide in the Easy sector of Omaha Beach, Normandy, 28 Jun 1944, note wrecked LCI, Photo: US National Archive
Over the succeeding weeks and months the beach was well established and supplies flowed more smoothly through them and the Mulberry Harbours. As the Allies advanced useable harbours were also becoming available so the job of Lieutenant Turner and his men on the beaches was largely done. He and his Platoon were then assigned to march toward Germany... but that's another story well outside the remit of this website
Carroll Turner
[The account was received from Judy, widow of Bill Spencer of LST 325 Blue Crew. Lieutenant Turner passed away on July 26, 2007.
Bill Spencer and Carroll Turner may still be swapping stories on the deck of an LST up above].
The original can be found @ http://www.combinedops.com/Overlord.htm
This gives us some idea of what happened next to Carroll and his battalion. A must-visit site!
Omaha Beach, 18 June 2008
Overlooking Omaha Beach, 18 June 2008
Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial contains the graves of 9,380 of military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. On the Walls of the Missing, are inscribed 1,557 names
A note from Nigel Robins, Swansea History Web -2005
The Swansea, Cardiff and Newport flotillas totalled 158 ships (mainly LSTs and a few Liberty ships) moving all of Indianhead's heavy equipment. The division was expected to unload over the beach at Omaha rather than the Mulberry, so that explains why there were so many landing craft. The division was expected to go into combat with German Waffen SS armoured divisions and so had considerable numbers of heavy tanks and artillery, and engineer's equipment, and casualties were expected to be extremely heavy. The soldiers billeted on local people were usually port and support battalions (i.e. they were expected to live and work in the local community). The combat soldiers were usually housed in tented enclosures (as at Morriston and Singleton Park), they had less opportunity to mix with the local population.