70 Years Later and Their Love is Still Going Strong

Hayden Furrow, D-Day Veteran,
during a school program at the
National D-Day Memorial

What better day to share one of my favorite love stories than Valentine’s Day? I’ve always been a sucker for a good love story whether it’s a book, movie, TV show, or real life. I guess you can say that I am a bit of a romantic, even though it is hard to see unless you get me on the topic. Well today, I want to share a video about one of our volunteers, who is also a D-Day veteran, on his 70^th wedding anniversary which occurred just a few days ago. Hayden Furrow is one of the sweetest men you will ever meet and his enthusiasm for sharing his story with the next generation endears him to me as an educator—it’s an experience that our school visitors will never forget. But every time I see him and he mentions his wife, Katie, he lights up like he’s back in his youth and you can tell how deeply he cares for her. Recently, a local TV station aired an interview of the Furrows on their milestone wedding anniversary, as seen at this link. I hope you enjoy the video as much as I did and that their story is a reminder of the good things that life can bring.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

-Maggie

African American Women in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II

Hello, Again!

This week, we are featuring another blog by another one of our spring interns, Meika. She is a senior at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia and is double majoring in history and political science with aspirations to earn an M.A. in Public History and then work in history museums, historic sites, or historical societies. She’s a long-time enthusiast of World War II and we are excited to have her on board this spring! I hope you enjoy her blog on the African American women who served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II.

-Maggie

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Black nurses landing in Scotland, 1944. 

African American women were not immune to the United States’ public call to arms after America entered World War II in 1941. Women who lived in a racially segregated and discriminatory country were willing and eager to join the Allied fight against tyranny and oppression in Europe. American white women are remembered for their heroic services during World War II as WACs, WAVES, nurses, factory workers, planters of Victory Gardens, and bandage rollers.  Stories of their service are well known and constantly perpetuated during elementary school lessons of Rosie the Riveter. However, the story of black women who also served their country during World War II are less well known. One of the ways through which American black women contributed during the war was through their participation in the Army Nurse Corps.

Due to the racial segregation and discrimination in the United States, black women found it difficult to join the ranks of the would-be 60,000 women in the Army Nurse Corps (ANC) during World War II.  Even though the candidates had the same training and education as most of the white women who were admitted, government quotas placed limits on the number of black women who were allowed to join the ANC in 1941. In subsequent years due to the influence of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, quotas for black nurses to join the Army Nurse Corps began to loosen up and completely abolish the quota system in 1944.

A black nurse treating a German P.O.W. in England, 1944.

Though their numbers were small in comparison to the 60,000 white nurses, the less than 600 black nurses eventually admitted to the ANC were happy to finally be able to serve their country. Despite their segregation, discrimination, and occasionally rudimentary jobs assigned to them, black nurses in the Army Nurse Corps were able to see a bit of the world during their service. Though black nurses were largely restricted to serving only in hospitals and aid stations occupied by black military men, a demand for medical care brought black nurses to England, Burma, Africa, and such faraway places such as Liberia and Australia, and other locations in the Pacific. Other nurses remained in or returned to the United States to work in convalescent, general, and station hospitals.

In addition to serving the black troops, black nurses were also provided medical care for German prisoners of war in England and in as obscure places as Arizona in the United States. Due to labor shortages in the United States, the government made use of a free source of labor: German prisoners of war, and thus transported them from Europe to work on farms or other labor sites.

The work given and sacrifice made by black nurses during World War II not only achieved progress for black nurses in the form of increased federal funding and recognition, but they also inspired a new generation of nurses. Following the eradication of the quota system in 1944, over 2,000 young black women enrolled in the Cadet Nurse Corps program and other nursing schools. The 600 African American nurses in the Army Nurse Corps deserve to become part of the narrative of American women who served during World War II and I hope that further research can be conducted and further recognition duly awarded.

-Meika

For  further reading on the topic, check out “The Army Nurse Corps Introduction.” Army History. http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/72-14/72-14.HTM

The Treatment of Black Citizens and Civilians in the Range of Nazi Germany

Hello, Friends!

I’m excited to introduce a new contributor to our blog, Olivia. She is one of my spring interns and is working on her Masters of Art in History at Liberty University. Her primary field is Modern American Military History focusing on leadership in World War II and the Korean Conflict. Her work seeks to bring to light those leaders and subordinates whose impact is often overlooked or undervalued. She has also presented at several conferences and won an award for her work on the Japanese American Nisei Soldiers. I am very excited to have Olivia on board and hope you enjoy her post on treatment of African Americans in Nazi Germany!

-Maggie

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The horrors afflicted by Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945 are ingrained in the world’s memory with the tragedy and loss still present in the minds of people around the globe. While the atrocities Nazi Germany afflicted on groups such as the Roma and Jewish communities are well known there are other groups, which also suffered at the hand of Nazi controlled Germany. One of these lesser-known groups the black and mulatto citizens of in reach of Nazi Germany.

Before World War I there were not many black German citizens living in Germany. When Germany lost World War I the Treaty of Versailles stated Germany was so give up her colonies in land that is present day Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ghana, Togo, Cameroon, and Namibia. With the loss of these military outposts, military men and German colonial students, artisans, writers, and performers both white and black returned to Germany. Many military and colonial leaders also brought with them a system of deep racism and discrimination of black citizens. The Treaty of Versailles also stated troops were to occupy the Rhineland region of West Germany. The French assigned 200,00 soldiers both nationals and colonials to occupy the Rhineland. Racist propaganda groups in Germany quickly moved to compound the situation in order to spread racism and discrimination against blacks in the Rhineland and Germany. Propaganda viewed the black colonial French soldiers as rapist and carriers of disease. Other special interest groups blamed black soldiers for all of the unrest, rape, and murder of German women by the occupying forces, causing panic and uproar. This escalated and even resulted in Pope XV asking for the removal of black French troops and people writing to US President Woodrow Wilson demanding the removal of the black colonial troops. Even before Hitler’s rise to power, discrimination began with forbidding black citizens from holding any type of government jobs or roles in the military. Interracial marriage was also banned in Germany and all of its holdings.

However, with the rise of Hitler’s power in 1933 came wide spread persecution and further discrimination was implemented against blacks and mulattos living in Germany and the territories Hitler acquired. While there was never a program of systematic elimination, treatment of black citizens varied in levels of severity from discrimination and isolation to sterilization and medical experimentation. In Mein Kamph, Hitler stated that, “Jews had brought Negros into the Rhineland with the clear aim of running the hated while race by the necessarily-resulting bastardization.” In this statement Hitler used the previous post World War I tensions to push the German people to accepted racism and discrimination.

By 1937 the Germans decided something had to be done about the approximately 800 mixed raced children living in the Rhineland which Hitler deemed “an insult to the German Nation. Therefore, a committee created Commission Number 3, giving the German government power to start sterilizing mixed race children deemed “Rhineland Bastards”. As many as 400 German African mulatto children were gathered and sterilized, many with out the parents knowledge beforehand. Hans Hauck was a teenager at the time this organization was commissioned and was serialized by the Nazis. Hauck recalled in the documentary, “Hitler’s Forgotten Victims,” he was serialized without anesthesia. Once his procedure was completed he was given a certificate validating his procedure and told to avoid sex with German women. At the same time women who were found pregnant with mixed babies were forced to have abortions.  At the same time, persecution was also happening to the small population of full black German citizens.

Under Hitler’s rule all black citizens were banned from universities and in some cases the subjects of anthropological and medical studies, there were also cases of murder and abuse. Such is the case of Hilarius Gilges. Gilges was a 24-year-old native of Dusseldorf and an artist. In June of 1933 approximately a dozen SS officers attacked Gilges, captured, tortured, and killed the young man for his race identity and political affiliations. Today his life is memorialized in a plaza in Düsseldorf as the first marked death in Düsseldorf under the Nazi oppression. Others with similar stories are shared in published works such as Born to Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany, which tales the story of Hans Massaquoi who grew up during the War in Germany.

At the time Hitler and the Nazi’s came to power there were approximately 25,000 black or mulatto citizens in Germany out of population of 65 million. Taking into account the low population proportion of black and mixed German citizens during Hitler’s rule combined with the world wide level of accustomed prejudice and discrimination toward men and women with African heritage at the time it, is easy to see how the plight of those souls tortured and maimed by Nazi practices went unheard of for so many years. However, the policies of hatred and abuse toward those deemed “impure” or “a threat to the master race” practiced by Nazi Germany goes beyond the treatment of Roma, Jews, and Russians. The torment and pain Nazi Germany inflicted on the population of men, women, and children with African decent deserves to be told in shared with the same hope of never allowing such a travesty to occur in our lifetime and in future generations. 

-Olivia

Remembering the Sacrifice of Virginia Tech Alumni on D-Day

Every year when school starts back, we eagerly await the arrival of over 360 first years from Virginia Tech’s Corps of Cadets for their annual visit. It is always exciting to watch the next generation of servicemen and women learn about the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of those who served before them—especially considering the Virginia Tech and D-Day connection.

Virginia Tech (VT) was established in 1872 with agricultural and military training central to its mission. During World War II, not only did students serve but the campus was transformed into an active-duty military installation. In all, more than 7,000 VT alumni served in WWII, of whom 323 died in service to their country.

One of our Bedford Boys and D-Day fatalities, John Schenk, was a Business Administration major at Virginia Tech. You can read more about John’s experience here. Throughout the first month or so of the invasion, VT lost 20 alumni in and around Normandy. There is a plaque just outside of the Memorial’s Gray Plaza that memorializes VT’s contribution to the D-Day Invasion.

Today, the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets’ mission is to nurture and create great leaders ready to pursue military careers or to enter the public and private sectors after graduation. This summer, many of the cadets went to Normandy and learned first-hand about the sacrifices made by those whose footsteps they are following. Read about their trip to Normandy here.

Thankfully, it was a mild morning for the 360 or so first year cadets to rotate through seven different stations at the Memorial. Many of our volunteers, and even one of our World War II veterans, come out year after year to lead a station and share about the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of those who stormed the beaches on June 6, 1944 because it is inspiring to see young men and women who understand the importance of service to their country.

Check out the following news stories to hear more about the visit from the cadets themselves:

http://wsls.com/2016/09/05/virginia-tech-cadets-use-experiences-overseas-to-teach-others-about-d-day/

http://www.wdbj7.com/content/news/Virginia-Tech-Cadets-share-Normandy-experience-392357591.html

http://www.virginiafirst.com/news/local-news/virginia-tech-cadets-visit-the-national-d-day-memorial

Until Next Time,

Maggie

Naval Combat Demolition Unit: The Navy SEALs of WWII

My name is Victoria Carr. I am a senior at Mary Baldwin College as a history major and I’m spending my summer as an intern at the National D-Day Memorial. As an intern with the Education Department, I have worked closely with the school groups, giving tours, and assisting with educational programs and events.

During World War I, a group of elite men was added to the U.S Navy to help with destroying enemy defensive obstacles. In World War II, these men were called frogmen and were a part of the Naval Combat Demolition Unit. Today, this group is known as the Navy SEALs.

Once the US entered WWII, the Navy saw that in order to defeat the Axis powers they would need to perform a large number of amphibious attacks. They decided that men would have to go in to reconnoiter the landing beaches then locate and destroy obstacles and defenses. The Army and Navy established the Amphibious Scout and Raider School at Fort Pierce, Florida in 1943 to train men in the specialty of amphibious raids and tactics. Most of these men used their skills though North Africa, the Pacific, and the Normandy landings. 

As time went on, there was a need for men to destroy obstacles. In 1943, the Navy created a large dedicated force for this task called the Naval Combat Demolition Unit, or NCDU, also located at Fort Pierce, Florida. The NCDU force meant recruitment beyond just the pool of experienced combat swimmers to the Seabees (the Navy’s construction battalions), the U.S Marines, and U.S Army combat engineers.  Most of these men were used to disarm explosives, but now they were going to learn to use them offensively. One innovation was to use 2.5 pound packs of tetryl placed in a rubber tube so that they could twisted around obstacles for demolition.

By June 1944, 34 NCDU teams were deployed in England as a part of Operation Overlord. The Germans had placed defenses on the French lines to make it hard for the Allied forces to attack without heavy lost. As the NCDU teams arrived in England, the scouts and raiders were out getting information on the obstacles placed along the French coast. For training, they built a replica of the Belgian Gates on the south coast of England for the teams to practice on. They learned that they could blow the gate to pieces creating more of an obstacle, but they would need to find the key corner joints so that it fell down flat. The Allied attack plans had the NCDU teams landing in the second wave of the D-Day invasion on 6 June 1944 and working at low tide to clear the obstacles so that troops could get though.

NDCU 140- Hill's Hellions

My Great Grandfather, Donald C. Carr, was part of the NCDU team during World War II and D-Day.  His NCDU was called the “Hills Hellions” or NCDU 140. He wrote a letter to his high school when he returned from Normandy. He wrote:

“I returned recently from the invasion of Normandy. The demolition crews to which I am attached were the first to land on the shores of France. Our mission was to destroy the beach obstacles so that the incoming troops and supplies could be landed with minimum of loss. Landing slightly before H-hour, we encountered heavy enemy resistance. After completing our mission we remained on the beach for 28 days then returned to the French debarkation point for transportation to England and the United States. I am sorry to say that we only returned with 53% of our men.  There are many new cemeteries on the shores of France that are filled with men who gladly gave their lives for the cause. As men have said before, you give us the equipment, we shall do the rest.”

It has been an honor to spend my summer interning at the National D-Day Memorial and having the opportunity to honor and preserve the men who stormed the beaches on June 6, 1944, like my grandfather.

-Victoria

                

Bob Slaughter's Order of the Day: An Endangered Artifact

On June 5 or 6, 1944, hours before embarking on the greatest invasion of WWII, American soldiers, sailors and airmen received a special message from their commander, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower. The printed “pep talk” informed the men that they were “about to embark upon the great crusade,” defined the coming fight as one of freedom versus tyranny, and encouraged the men that “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” Known as the Order of the Day, the D-Day message was one of the most important military documents in US history.

Bob Slaughter, D-Day Veteran
Founder of National D-Day Memorial

Few of the men that day, facing the biggest fight of their lives, thought to save their copies of the Order of the Day. But one man who did was the founder of the National D-Day Memorial:

John Robert “Bob” Slaughter of Roanoke.

Bob was a survivor of D-Day, a sergeant in the 116^th Regiment of the 29^th Division at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. Like his fellow soldiers, he received a copy of the Order of the Day as he awaited the order to begin the invasion of Normandy. But unlike most of the men, he realized the historic nature of the document and of the day. He circulated through his company and had his buddies sign their names to his copy; then folded it into a plastic bag and tucked it into his wallet. He carried his Order of the Day through the rest of his time in service, and afterwards described it as his “most treasured souvenir of the war.”

It was, for many years, his own personal memorial to the men of D-Day. Of the 75 soldiers who signed Bob’s Order that night, eleven would be dead within hours.

Bob went on to become perhaps the best known D-Day veteran in the nation, but he never forgot the men who never made it off those beaches. Often he would speak to school groups, club meetings, or civic organizations, and show his Order of the Day as he told his poignant story.

Slaughter's copy of the Order of the Day

Bob died in 2012. Earlier this year, his family donated his framed copy of the Order of the Day, along with the rest of his papers, to the Memorial he did so much to build.

 The tattered scrap of paper is now one of the most significant items in our collection, a tangible reminder of the costs of that crucial day in history. It was actually there on Omaha Beach, and against all odds survived. Very few original copies of Ike’s Order survive, and even fewer with the signatures of D-Day participants. That’s why the staff and volunteers who have had the chance to see and hold Bob’s Order (it’s too fragile to be on public display, so only limited access is permitted) find it a chilling experience. All have been awed; some have been moved to tears, as they realize that for so many heroes it was the last time they ever wrote their name.

The Order is, sadly, in very fragile shape. Printed on inferior wartime paper, it literally endured months of battlefield conditions. Creased, torn, faded and unfortunately repaired with tape, this highly significant artifact stands greatly in need of conservation. Yet the rarity and historical significance of Bob’s Order of the Day make it imperative to preserve this endangered artifact. It’s a testament to one of the most important battles of the 20th Century and to the men who fought it.

That is why the National D-Day Memorial has nominated Bob’s Order of the Day for the Top Ten Endangered Artifact program of the Virginia Association of Museums. And to raise awareness of the need to preserve such treasures, our supporters are invited to vote online through the month of August in the popular poll!

Anyone and everyone can cast their votes at www.vatop10artifacts.org. Supporters are encouraged to vote as often as they like—there is no limit of one vote per person or one vote per day. We’ve timed it—you can vote about five times in one minute!

Those wishing to make a lasting impact can also donate to the conservation of any of the twenty nominated artifacts, including the Order.

We have participated in the Top 10 Endangered Artifacts Poll for many years, but this time we are hoping folks will support our nomination in record numbers. It’s an important part of our history and a great way to honor the men who won the war for us. So get started voting—vote early, vote often!

-John

Defending “Fortress Europe”: The Atlantic Wall

My name is Tyler; I am a history major at the University of Virginia and am interning with the National D-Day Memorial over the summer. My primary internship responsibilities include the expansion and maintenance of our archives, giving tours, and assisting with our many education programs. Having been exposed to so much D-Day history in the past few months, I developed an interest in the obstacles these soldiers faced and decided to complete more research on the Atlantic Wall.

Steel 'hedgehogs' at the Pas de Calais, April 1944

On March 23, 1942 Adolf Hitler issued Fuhrer Directive No. 40 calling for the creation of the Atlantic Wall.  A nearly 2000-mile long line of coastal defenses, the Atlantic Wall stretched from the northern reaches of Norway, along the coast of continental Europe, and down to the Franco-Spanish border.  Its purpose, to defend against an Allied invasion of Europe no matter where it may come.

The monumental task of designing and building this defensive network was given to Organization Todt, the engineering group which had been responsible for both the Autobahn and the Siegfried Line which protected Germany’s western border.  Over half a million French workers were drafted through the Vichy regime’s compulsory labor program to build the defenses.  Many were paid for their labor, although not much, but slave labor was used as well.  Even with these savings in labor costs the project was enormously expensive, requiring both money and resources.  In France alone the cost was over 3.5 billion Deutschmarks, and the wall defenses as a whole required 600 million cubic feet of concrete and 1.3 million tons of steel.

Rommel surveying defenses along the French coast

Initially these defenses were concentrated around naval and U-boat bases. But starting in late 1943, the fortifications were expanded to cover virtually the entire coast.  In early 1944, Field Marshall Erwin Rommel was given the task of improving the defenses against an increasingly likely Allied invasion.  Because of his experience fighting the Allies in North Africa, Rommel believed that Allied air power posed the greatest threat.  Owing to this, he ordered the building of reinforced concrete bunkers and pillboxes capable of surviving an aerial bombardment.  Further inland, in the open fields of farmland, large sharpened logs were driven into the ground.  Known as “Rommel’s asparagus”, these were meant to destroy Allied gliders should they try to land.

Rommel also believed, quite rightly, that if the Allies were able to secure a beachhead then the war would be lost for Germany.  As such, the beaches were where he focused most of his attention.  Numerous beach obstacles were put in place to guard against Allied landing craft. Steel “hedgehogs” and tetrahedrons were placed in the water to tear out the hull of the invasion craft, and log ramps were erected to capsize them. Mines were used extensively, both in the water and behind the beaches as well; in Northern France alone, over 6 million of these mines were laid.  Rommel never believed that these obstacles would stop an invasion, but he hoped they would slow it down enough to allow reinforcements arrive and repulse the Allied forces.

Clearly, the task of invading France was no easy one, and the Allies knew they would need luck on their side in order to pull it off.  The reserve panzer divisions which could have repulsed the invasion could only be released upon the direct order of the Fuhrer himself. And as luck would have it, Adolf Hitler had taken a sleeping pill the night before the invasion and his staff refused to wake him.  Because of this one blunder, the entire defense network was rendered virtually useless and the Allied invasion succeeded.

-Tyler

What, Exactly, Did Ike Say to Launch the Invasion?

We all know the result of Eisenhower’s order on that fateful day. 150,000 men, 12,000 planes, and 7,000 sea-going vessels launched the most intricately planned (and most risky) amphibious assault in history on the beaches of Normandy. But what exactly did the Supreme Allied Commander say to make that happen? The quick answer is: no one knows.

Captain J.M. Stagg

Eisenhower had already issued one monumental order on June 4^th: the invasion must be delayed. Although as he met with his staff and meteorological experts that day, the weather was fine. Ike was concerned with conditions a few hours in the future. His chief weather adviser, Captain J.M. Stagg, reported that a storm front was moving into the Channel and would make the landings virtually impossible if carried out as originally scheduled on June 5. (Had the weather cooperated that day, our Arch would be one inch shorter at 44 feet and 5 inches.)

Through June 5^th, Eisenhower and his meteorological team continued to monitor the forecast. Weather prediction on this level was a new science, and it was fortuitous that the Allies excelled at it compared to the Germans, who were blissfully unaware that an invasion could take place in such conditions. Rommel famously decided he could take a day off to visit his wife on her birthday because of the storm.

Ike’s team gathered again in Southwick House at 0330 on June 5^th, in miserable weather, to mull the latest reports and the fate of the invasion party that was already at sea in the Channel. Stagg predicted a break in the storm by dawn. The Supreme Allied Commander had a decision of epic proportion to make: go or no go? Another delay could prove disastrous. It would mean recalling the troops already at sea and risking an intelligence leak that could reveal to the enemy the carefully guarded secret of the invasion.

Ike asked opinions of his staff, paced around the room, mulled his options, and then said…What?

The most frequently reported version of his order to launch the invasion is along the lines of “OK, we’ll go”, which Eisenhower himself used later in speaking of the meeting. The “official” tour script for volunteers at the Memorial records the “three words that changed history” as “Ok, let’s go”, which historian Stephen Ambrose preferred in several writings.

But there seems no end of other variations of The Order. In reality, Eisenhower himself never seemed aware of what he said. In 1964, then ex-President Eisenhower gave no less than five different versions for one article in a French magazine commemorating the 20^th Anniversary of the Invasion. In his memoir Crusade in Europe, he merely says he “announced the decision” and that no one present disagreed.

A few of the various permutations that have been proposed for The Order through the years include:

• “OK, let ‘er rip.”: This was actually the earlies version, reported in Reader’s Digest in August 1944, and apparently approved by Eisenhower at the time
• “Well, we’ll go.”
• “OK, boys. We will go.”
• “All right, we move.”
• “OK, we’ll go ahead.”
• “Yes, we will attack on the 6^th.”
• “Yes, gentlemen, we will attack on the 6^th.”
• “Gentlemen, we will attack tomorrow.”
• “We will make the attack on June 6.”
• “We will attack tomorrow.”

So, which one is accurate? Or do we have to reconcile ourselves to the fact that one of the most important decisions ever made in warfare has no definitive text to accompany it?

Southwick House

Only by putting yourself in the room at Southwick House can you begin to see how such a monumental moment could escape so unremarked. Picture a room full of officers on the verge of the most important operation they will ever experience.  There are no recording devices; no one takes notes. All listen intently to the weather reports and various opinions bandied about; all contemplate what happens next once the decision to go (or to delay) is made. They watch Eisenhower intently, but to a man all understandably have their minds more on their duty that on the curiosity of future history buffs.

In short, no one was concerned about the wording of the order. They only cared what the order was. Tellingly, Ike later recorded that as soon as he said whatever it was he said, the room emptied in moments. Each man there had a job to do and immediately got into gear to accomplish it. Recalling who said what and in what words was not a priority.

Incidentally, there is also no definitive list of exactly who was in the room that morning, and no agreement in the historical record of exactly what time the decision was made. Such details were lost in the fervency of the moment and fog of war.

The Supreme Allied Commander’s monumental decision raises a couple of interesting points. First, note that his order was the ONLY one Ike issued that day. His work was done in the months leading up to Operation Overlord. On the actual day, he could only pace, smoke too much, and wait as agonizingly slow and incomplete information arrived at Southwick.

Second, notice that he alone made the decision. He did not consult, and was not expected to consult, General Marshall in the States or the President himself. Such weighty responsibility entrusted entirely to a single officer would never have happened in the totalitarian regimes of our enemies, or even with our ally, the Soviet Union.

So Ike made the call. But, in the end, we can never know exactly what he said to make it. We can only contemplate the results of his order, and the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of the men who carried it out. 

-John

Identifying D-Day Fallen: John E. Anderson

D-Day was almost 72 years ago, but the memories are still vibrant, the pain of the losses hasn’t faded, and many mysteries remain unsolved. We’re pleased to report, however, that this month one of the heroes of D-Day will come home and receive the long-overdue recognition which circumstances until now have denied him. It’s a compelling story.

John E. Anderson

John Emanuel Anderson of Willmar, Minnesota, was a Motor Machinist Mate 1^st Class in the US Navy on June 6, 1944. He served as part of the crew of LCT-30 (Landing Craft Tank), delivering part of an anti-aircraft battalion to Omaha Beach in the thick of the fight. That noble vessel entered the field of D-Day legend with a “damn-the-torpedoes” charge against the beach obstacles, many of which had been submerged by rising tide by the time LCT-30 arrived.

Although the ship completed its mission safely, in withdrawing from the beach it was hit by a German shell and the engine room where Anderson was stationed flooded. He was the only fatality reported in official records for that craft; however for reasons never fully explained his body was listed as not recovered.

(The rest of the crew abandoned ship and hit the beach, where several were wounded by enemy fire or shrapnel. They were eventually able to evacuate, but their beached vessel, now without a working engine, remained for days afterwards and is seen in the background of many post-D-day photos).

Some assumed Anderson had been buried at sea by his shipmates later. Others that his body washed out into the channel, never to be seen again. What didn’t occur to anyone was that his remains and his identity might have simply become separated.

Back in Willmar, Anderson’s parents and family mourned. They no doubt relived their grief, mixed with a twinge of pride, when John’s name went onto the “Tablets of the Missing” at the Normandy-American cemetery. And they went to their own graves never knowing where the mortal remains of their son were.

Now fast forward to 2009. A researcher (who has made it his mission to help give a name to the unidentified remains of American military personnel) contacted John Anderson’s family. An elderly sister survived; plus many of the next generation who felt immense pride in their kinsman’s service. The researcher claimed to have evidence that John’s body had not, in fact, been lost at sea, but had been recovered from LCT-30 and had been listed as unidentified burial X-91, lying in an anonymous grave in Normandy.

The only way to be sure, however, was to do DNA testing on surviving relatives and on the remains in X-91. The family was more than willing, but the military took much more convincing. What they hoped would be a matter of months turned into more than six years.

However, patience and persistence paid off, and last fall the remains were disinterred and brought to the US for DNA testing. The results were conclusive. The body in X-91 could only be that of John E. Anderson. Later this month, he will be laid to rest next to his parents in Wilmar in a special ceremony.

It’s been six dozen years since 2,499 American men laid down their lives in a valiant effort to complete their mission in Normandy. One of those men now has come home. A 72-year-old mystery has been solved; a grieving family now has closure to a painful memory of loss. We as a nation can take the opportunity to honor John Anderson and the other men who died alongside him. They completed their mission to, in Ike’s words on that fateful day, “bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.”

Welcome home, Petty Officer Anderson, and may you rest in peace beneath the brilliant blue skies of Minnesota. The National D-Day Memorial will be sure your legacy of valor, fidelity and sacrifice never fades.  

-John

A Walk in His Boots: Lt. Col. Lawrence Meeks

Ever want to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes? We’re guessing you wouldn’t want to go where these shoes went—across Omaha Beach in some of the fiercest fighting of WWII. But once we tell you the story of this well-worn pair of boots, you’ll gain new respect for the man who wore them and the men who fought alongside him.

Lt. Colonel Lawrence Meeks

The shoes, now in the collection of the National D-Day Memorial, were worn by Roanoke native Lt. Colonel Lawrence Meeks on June 6^th, 1944. Meeks commanded the 3^rd Battalion of the 116^th Infantry Regiment of the 29^th Division—the soldiers chosen as the very spearhead of the invasion.

According to interviews done before Meeks’ death in 1995, his battalion was originally slated to land on the Dog Green sector of Omaha Beach, where the fighting would prove to be the thickest and the casualty rate the highest. But in a pre-invasion briefing, regimental commander Colonel Charles Canham of the 29^th asked Meeks “Are your men ready to die?” Meeks replied “Hell no! But we are ready to do our jobs, sir!”

An honest and admirable answer, but reportedly not one taken well by Canham. Soon afterwards he changed the plan and reassigned Meeks’ battalion to land later in the first wave. This likely saved a lot of lives in his unit; but Meeks and his men still had plenty of opportunity to do their duty.

Meeks would later report that the landing craft on which he was approaching Omaha Beach hit a mine, and the ramp was blown off. The man next to him, a Captain Gaffney, was killed and died on Meeks’ shoulder. As the craft filled with water, Col. Meeks and his men had to swim for it; most had to shed their equipment and arms to keep from drowning. They arrived on Omaha Beach virtually unarmed.

Meeks' high top boots that he wore on Omaha Beach

Meeks gathered his surviving men and led them to the meager cover of the beach’s shingle. He would later realize that had his landing craft not sunk, and had they landed where they were supposed to, they likely would have all perished—there was a brutally lethal machine gun nest directly in their original path.

For his gallantry and leadership on June 6^th, Meeks would be awarded the Silver Star. He also received a Bronze Star among other decorations for heroism.

Many months and harrowing experiences later, Meeks would receive his orders to go home. As he packed his belongings, he took special note of the high-top shoes he had worn across Omaha Beach and for many miles afterwards. Wanting to keep them, either for sentimental or historical purposes, he affixed a tag to the shoes reading “These shoes are the personal property of the undersigned. They were worn ashore by him on D-Day and it is his desire to keep them.”

Tag from Meeks' boots

In 1998 the shoes were donated by Col. Meeks’ son to the D-Day Memorial. Naturally, any such item with such a close link to the beaches of Normandy is a cherished relic for us. It can be awe-inspiring to take such treasures out of their archival storage and wonder that they could tell us if they could speak. Of course, they do speak to us in a sense, reminding us of the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of heroes like Lawrence Meeks. In our future Education Center/ Museum we plan to use such artifacts to continue to tell the compelling story of D-Day.

-John

A 1940s Radio Show

What did the Bedford Boys hear on the radio the night before they shipped out for service in the regular army, service that eventually took them into the war and to Omaha Beach on D-day?

We can’t know the answer to that question, but we can surmise that it may well have been a live musical performance broadcast from the Roanoke studio of WDBJ radio. A little news, some corny humor, some advertising for sponsor Dr. Pepper, and a lot of great music would have been on the agenda.

On Saturday, April 23, the Java Brothers will recreate a live WDBJ radio broadcast from the 1940s such as departing National Guardsmen from our area may have heard. Ralph Berrier, whose grandfather and his twin brother (the Hall brothers) often performed live on WDBJ, headlines the group, and portrays the announcer, the beloved Roanoke icon “Cousin” Irv Sharp. In between songs, Berrier will read original homespun scripts extolling the medicinal value of Dr. Pepper, the sponsor of the shows in the 1940s. Check out a video of their performance below:

The Java Brother’s will perform the recreated broadcast (plus some of their more modern music) at the National D-Day Memorial in conjunction with the annual “Prelude to Invasion” event. Their performances will be at 11:30 and 2:00. Other activities include reenactors, a skit on the Bedford Boys, children’s activities, and special programs for Scout troops.

Regular admission fees to the Memorial apply, with discounts available for Boy and Girl Scout groups. For more information, call 800-351-DDAY or email education@dday.org.

Hope to see you there!

Maggie

Prelude to Invasion: Meet the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand

Hello Friends!

As we are getting ready for our event, Prelude to Invasion: Meet the Allies, we want to share today about the role of the United Kingdom and its former colonies Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in World War II and D-Day.

United Kingdom

After realizing that his attempts at Nazi appeasement failed, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned and Winston Churchill succeeded him and lead the United Kingdom through World War II. He utilized the support of their commonwealth allies—Canada, Australia, India, and others—to maintain a presence in North Africa with the hopes of eventually striking Italy and eventually into the heart of the Axis powers. Germany attacked the UK through the sea cutting imports they needed to survive during the Battle of the Atlantic and also through the air with the Battle of Britain. Before the United States entered the war, they supported the UK militarily through the Lend-Lease Program.

British troops landing on D-Day

After Pearl Harbor, the US provided a needed boost to the UK after losing Malaysia and Singapore and the threat of a Japanese attack on Australia. Through the US and UK’s alliance, they were able to expel German and Italian forces from North Africa in May 1943, topple Mussolini’s regime in July 1943, and cross the English Channel to invade France in June 1944 marking the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. In the Pacific, the UK also lost Burma to the Japanese, but prevented a Japanese invasion of India.

Although the UK was victorious in World War II, it also brought about the end of their global empire. They lost influence over their overseas possession, and also lost the role of world leader to the US.

Canada

Initially, Canada, specifically Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, stood behind Britain’s policy of appeasement in the 1930’s against German aggression. However, after Germany invaded Poland in 1939, King himself had no doubt that in a great war involving Britain, Canada could not stand aside. Prior to D-Day, Canadian forces participated in the unsuccessful Dieppe Raid and defense of Hong Kong. They also participated in the Sicily campaign.

Canadian troops landing on Juno Beach on D-Day

On D-Day, 15,000 troops in Canada’s 3rd Infantry Division landed on Juno Beach under the operational control of the British 1st Corps. The Royal Canadian Air Force committed 39 strategic and tactical squadrons on D-Day flyer 230 sorties of the 1,200 total mounted by Bomber Command. Nearly 10,000 officers and men (more than six times the strength of the Royal Canadian Navy in 1939) served aboard the 126 Canadian fighting ships, 44 landing craft among them, participating in Operation Neptune on D-Day.

Between 1939 and 1945 more than one million Canadian men and women served full-time in the armed services—much more than one would expect for a nation that had a population of 11 million. More than 43,000 were killed. Despite the bloodshed, the war against Germany and the Axis powers reinvigorated Canada's industrial base, elevated the role of women in the economy, paved the way for Canada's membership in NATO, and left Canadians with a legacy of proud service and sacrifice.

Australia

Australia declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939 in coalition with Great Britain shortly after the German invasion of Poland. Around this time, women in Australia compromised the majority of the working class with paid employment. Throughout World War II, Australia fought in the European and Pacific theaters alongside the U.K. and the United States with almost one million men in their armed forces. For the first time since being a British colony, Australia was directly attacked by the Japanese. On D-Day, Australia contributed over 3,000 military personnel who served under British command in the Royal Navy, Army, and Air Force.

During World War II, Australia experienced the greatest prison break in history at Cowra, New South Wales. The Prisoner of War Camp No.12 contained POWs from Japan and Italy. On the night of August 4th, 1944, over one thousand Japanese POWs broke out of the prison believing that dying while attempting to escape would wipe out the shame of capture. 231 Japanese POWs were killed and 107 wounded. Another 45 died by suicide or in the process of being captured in the following days. In order to prevent Japanese retribution against Australian POWs, the incident was kept secret for over six years. Like the United States, World War II advanced Australia’s economy and industrialization allowing it to progress to a more cosmopolitan society.

New Zealand

New Zealand joined World War II when Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939. Economic and defensive considerations also motivated the New Zealand involvement — reliance on Britain meant that threats to Britain became threats to New Zealand too in terms of economic and defensive ties. New Zealand provided personnel, equipment and supplies for the British forces in addition to deploying their own divisions to aid in the Allied effort.

Spitfire Pilot from New Zealand

About 30,000 members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force were in Operation Overlord. Squadrons for New Zealand’s fighters and bombers flew in every phase, the former performing with particular efficacy above Omaha Beach on D-Day. Some 4,000 officers and men of the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve also took part in Operation Neptune. On D-Day many of New Zealand’s junior officers commanded either landing craft delivering troops to the British beaches or one of the numerous motor torpedo boats interdicting German E-boats.

The Second World War was New Zealand's greatest national effort to date. About 140,000 men and women were dispatched overseas to serve in fighting formations-- 104,000 in New Zealand’s armed forces, the rest in the British or New Zealand naval or air forces. In March 1944, there were just under 70,000 New Zealand personnel serving overseas. New Zealand’s casualties during WWII numbered 11,928.

While each fought as an independent nation, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand supported the United Kingdom from the beginning of the war and fought alongside each other as a part of the Allied Expeditionary Force on the beaches of Normandy. It wasn’t just the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who demonstrated fidelity on D-Day, but also the countries of the Allied Expeditionary Force.

Until Next Time,

Maggie

Real Life Rosie the Riveters: Women on the Homefront in WWII

Hello Again, Friends!

Today, I want to continue celebrating Women’s History Month by sharing about Rosie the Riveters. And yes, Riveters being plural is intentional. Not only were there numerous renditions of Rosie the Riveter as seen in this fantastic video, but there were millions of real-life “Rosies” throughout the nation who answered the call to service on the Homefront.

 

Three “Rosies” posing for a picture before
work. The ladies are identified as Virdie
Gordon Reyes, Retha Maxine Warner, and
Ruth Gordon Davis. The Gordon sisters
were from Elkton, VA, but moved to
Baltimore during the war.

As the men went off to fight in World War II, there was a tremendous need for women to step up in their absence. Women, like those pictured in this photograph to the left from our archives, went to work in the factories that shifted from domestic to wartime production to supply the troops and ensure victory for the Allied nations against Nazi Germany and Japan.

In order to encourage women to fight, the U.S. government began a propaganda campaign starring “Rosie the Riveter” aimed at recruiting female workers for the munitions industry. Rosie the Riveter quickly became arguably the most iconic image of working women during the war.

Between 1940 and 1945, the female percentage of the U.S. workforce increased from 27 percent to nearly 37 percent, and by 1945 nearly one out of every four married women worked outside the home. Bedford, VA was no exception. Many of the female family members of the Bedford Boys worked in local factories that produced supplies for their boys. The Belding Hemingway textile mill where Verona Draper, sister of Frank Draper, Jr., and Bettie Wilkes, wife of John Wilkes, worked to make rayon thread that was used for the manufacturing of parachutes. Frank Draper’s mother worked at the Rubatex factory where they produced insulation for aircrafts and submarines and hoses for gas masks. There was also Hampton Looms that produced material for military uniforms and coats. Women in Bedford also contributed to the war effort in their free time by going to the Bedford County Library to roll bandages. On June 6^th, they rolled 9,000 bandages in addition to the 68,300 they rolled in May.

Hampton Looms today in Bedford, VA

Over the past few years as the WWII generation passes on, the importance of honoring our nation's "Rosies" has garnered national attention-- even that of the White House. These women's service and support of the war were critical in winning the war, as well as integrating women into the workforce in the years following World War II.

Until Next Time,

Maggie

Remembering the Life of D-Day Veteran Carter Fisher

Hello, Friends!

Carter Fisher

It’s with a heavy heart today that I post this blog. While it is a sobering reality that we are losing our WWII veterans, it hits even closer to home when it is someone that you know very well. Today, we found out that Carter Fisher, a D-Day veteran, passed away yesterday. Not only was Carter one of the valiant men who participated in the invasion, but he kept the legacy of the 4,413 men who died on June 6^th alive through his commitment to volunteering and sharing their stories, as well as his own, at the National D-Day Memorial as a volunteer. Here’s a little bit of his story:

Carter, at age 19, was on board the USS Arkansas as it took position some 4,000 yards off Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944.  His job for the invasion was to load shells for the 12-inch guns onboard the USS Arkansas. He was stationed inside the turret on Battery One. Shortly after 5:30 a.m., the Arkansas started bombarding German positions on the coast in preparations for the Allied beach assault.

USS Arkansas in 1945

Because he was in the turret, Carter did not see much, but he did hear the blasts of the guns and firing of anti-aircraft artillery. He recalled two German fighter planes attacking the ship that evening, but both were shot of the sky. All in all, the USS Arkansas ended June 6, 1944 with no casualties. If you would like to hear more of Carter’s experience on D-Day, here is a link to an interview he did a few years ago as a part of our Lunchbox Lecture series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmlIwHqfWKQ.

The USS Arkansas went on to participate in the bombardment of Cherbourg and fire in support of the invasion of Southern France.  The USS Arkansas also provided support for the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Carter left the Navy in 1946 and never talked about the war, even though he had taken part in three major Allied invasions in southern France and the Pacific.

The Necrology Wall at the National D-Day
Memorial in Bedford, VA

After the National D-Day Memorial opened in 2001, Carter began volunteering as a tour guide and through that he started sharing his memories from the war. He once said about his service on D-Day that “I don’t brag about it, but I’m proud to tell people I served there.” When he gave his tour of the Memorial, he always made sure that they took special note of the 4,413 names of the Allied soldiers, sailors, and airmen killed on June 6, 1944 on our necrology wall because it’s important to remember every single one of those men who didn’t come back. Carter wasn’t just a beloved tour guide at the Memorial, but he was a friend to many staff members and volunteers who remember him for his sense of humor. Even though he was not at the Memorial as much in the past few years due to his declining health, it was always great to see him on June 6^th at our anniversary ceremonies. He will be missed tremendously!

We’ve been fortunate to have our D-Day and WWII veterans with us for the past 72 years; however, our time with them is quickly coming to an end. It is important now more than ever to preserve the legacy of these veterans to share with future generations. Today as I was preparing our Education Tent for the first field trip of the season while taking in the news of Carter’s death, I realized that it is our duty to keep his memory, as well as the thousands of other D-Day veterans’ memories, alive. While I do this through educational initiatives at the National D-Day Memorial, you can share the legacy of Carter and all WWII veterans through listening to the stories of those who are still with us, thanking them for their service, and sharing those stories for others to hear. It is only through all of us working together that their legacy is preserved for the next generation!

Until Next Time,

Maggie

Volunteering is Fun at the National D-Day Memorial

Hello, everyone!

Today, we want to feature the men and women who put in thousands of volunteer hours each year to support the educational mission of the National D-Day Memorial to honor the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who landed on the beaches of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. We really couldn’t do what we do here without them!

Volunteers listening to the tour guide at the
George C. Marshall Museum in Lexington, VA

On Monday, we had the opportunity to take our volunteers who worked 25 hours or more to Lexington, VA to visit the George C. Marshall Museum and Lee Chapel. I always look forward to the Volunteer Field Trip because it is a great time to catch up with our volunteers during the slower winter season—especially, since the Memorial tends to be closed due to ice and snow in January and February—and for all of us to learn from other museums and historic sites.

If you are interested in volunteering with the National D-Day Memorial, you are in luck—We will be holding our annual Volunteer Training this weekend at the Bedford Welcome Center! We have two different dates to fit your schedule: Friday, February 26, 2016 or Saturday, February 27, 2016 from 8:30AM to noon. This is an opportunity to learn more about the National D-Day Memorial and different ways that you can volunteer here. Call (540) 587-3619 for more information and to RSVP.

Below, Ches shares about what it is like to volunteer at the National D-Day Memorial:

___________________________________________________________________________

Ches volunteering at the Information Table
 at the POW/MIA ceremony Sept. 2015 with
Jenny, D-Day's Volunteer Coordinator,
and Trudy, a volunteer for the Gift Store

During my final semester at Longwood, I completed an internship with the Memorial. During my internship I did everything I could trying to experience as much as possible! I worked in the Foundation's archives organizing, accessioning, and preserving history for the future. I also helped out in the Education Department. I led tours, supervised the Victory Garden students, assisted in leading student events, such as the day camps, and so much more! Once my internship was over in May 2015, I decided to stick around and volunteer throughout the summer because I truly enjoyed sharing and preserving the legacy of D-Day. My experience at the Memorial gave my internship and my volunteering so much meaning. History- learning it and teaching it- and interacting with visitors became a passion of mine, and today I can't imagine doing anything else!

In 2015, we had just over 80 volunteers at the National D-Day Memorial who volunteered 10,500 hours last year! Our volunteers bring the Memorial alive from giving visitors wonderful tours for the public and school groups to answering questions to welcoming visitors at the gate and in the gift store. Not only do our volunteers assist in daily operations, but also with events and ceremonies on-site. It is through this contagious spirit of patriotic volunteerism that we are able to ensure that the Memorial will carry on the legacy of D-Day for future generations.

 

Twila and Bill volunteering to set-up luminaries in Dec. 2015.
They also volunteer as tour guides for the public and school groups.

I am truly honored to work with wonderful, caring, intelligent volunteers who not only make everyone's day brighter, but who give their all for this incredible Memorial. You taught thousands of children, adults, and students the story of the Bedford Boys and the Allied valor, fidelity, and sacrifice on D-Day. You all are what make this Memorial so memorable. The story is impressive, but it is the volunteers who tell it that bring it alive and make it real for the thousands of visitors each year.

Thanks again for all you do!

Ches