Omaha Beach, June 6 1944, 1st Wave - Would You Do it?

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If I had a choice? No way. If I signed on to serve my country then I would be obligated and proud to do it. Given the choice I would much rather have been on Utah Beach. Omaha beach was a disaster. The beach was not shelled hard enough prior to the landing.

I still believe after the first wave they should have changed the landing site to another beach. If it wasn't for the Navy coming into shallow waters and pounding the pillboxes it would have been a real disaster. Go Navy!
 
(Post 18, by husbandofaromanian) "I will not risk my life for this government. In WWII, I would have but I don't believe the country is worth defending now."

And that is precisely the sentiment that jeopardizes this nation's future. Folks are more than happy to enjoy the benefits, as long as someone else is picking up the tab.


I can only pray that I would have the courage to stand up and shoulder the load that they did.
 
I saw combat in Vietnam. I enlisted not drafted, Yes I would have gone. I have been told be a few that was there that they knew what was coming, but they also knew it had to be done.
 
The troops on the beach certainly DID not know. just about everyone LT and below was green green green, and that was intentional.
 
It all could have been staged better, I think there are allot of different possible resolutions to conflicts, the brute force certainly is an option but it doesn't mean its the one that should be taken first.

I can't tell you if I would or wouldn't because I don't know.
 
I am saying what I was told be vets who where there. I got to know these men through the Veterans or Foreign Wars. They saw what they were going up against. And as most of them said they did not think they would live, to see the day out. They knew that the Germans were dug in and very combat experienced. They knew and could see that the bombing and shelling were not doing much damage to the fortifications. All I know, as I was not there, is what I have been told be those that did.
 
Lots of excellent D-Day video clips on Youtube. Here's one from the German perspective, which will give you a good idea of the fierce resistance the Allies faced:
Click to expand...

Remember this is German agitprop. It's heavily edited and mixed in with false footage from various drills at other locations. The landings were actually a huge success, with about 10,000 allied casualties and 2,500 allied KIA (@1,500 US). Considering the enormous size of the operation that was not bad at all.

One of the stats that always amazed me was that we managed to land a MILLION MEN in under a month. We turned the beaches into floating ports.
 
Can I choose my load?

Many died because their load was so heavy they could not make it out of the water. If hit or stunned the soldier would be knocked under and all that gear he had would grab a bunch of water and pull the man down.

For example: Co E 16th Inf, 29th Inf Div lost 105 men at Omaha on 6 June. Only one from the advance from the crest of the beach inland. Most of the rest were lost to the water.

Many men were so exhausted by fear, shock and their load that they fell at the tide line and could not move out of the way of the waves and were drowned. Even if the injury was minor all their energy had been sapped.

What this says to me is that deaths from enemy metal were the smaller fraction of the overall deaths, most of which were pure stupid wastage and could have been avoided. It may well be that the US High Command or whoever chose the loads soldiers had to carry killed more men then the Germans.

So with that slight change in the odds, I'd like to think I'd be willing.
 
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I'm a soldier. That's kinda what we do. I'd have gone with my unit if we were slated for the landing, and done my best to get my soldiers in alive. That being said, knowing what I know about it, I'd really try to find a way to take my IBA in the time machine with me.

I will not risk my life for this government. In WWII, I would have but I don't believe the country is worth defending now.
Click to expand...

No worries, man. We got your back.
 
...if it were possible to step into a time machine and be with the first wave of troops landing at Omaha on D-Day,
who today would without hesitation take part in the undertaking? Assuming you have an M1 Garand and no armor.
Click to expand...
OK, no constraints specified about what else I'd carry in said time machine.

Sure. I'll also take a squadron of F-16s
and a couple of B2 bombers loaded with fusion weapons.

Oh, and what the hey: throw in the Nimetz, also,
with F/A-18 Hornet, EA-6B Prowler, E-2 Hawkeye,
C-2 Greyhound, SH/HH-60 Seahawk, and S-3 Viking.

That should get the job done more quickly.

By the way, what, exactly, is the point of this hypothetical exercise? :scrutiny:

USS_Nimitz_1997.jpg
 
Posted by Cosmoline:
Remember this is German agitprop. It's heavily edited and mixed in with false footage from various drills at other locations. The landings were actually a huge success, with about 10,000 allied casualties and 2,500 allied KIA (@1,500 US). Considering the enormous size of the operation that was not bad at all.

One of the stats that always amazed me was that we managed to land a MILLION MEN in under a month. We turned the beaches into floating ports.
Click to expand...

Thanks, but I've known since the 1960's that D-Day was a success for us. However, it DID come at a significant cost. I don't consider five figure casualties to be a "walk in the park". :rolleyes:

I know some D-Day veterans who I personally saw weeping as they watched "Saving Private Ryan". They were there, and understand better than anyone the enormous sacrifice that was made by thousands of soldiers.

Of course the video is heavily edited. Allied war films of the time that were intended for the "folks back home", were also heavily edited.

Do you have any documentation to support your claim that the video contains "false footage from various drills at other locations."?
 
German Defenses at Omaha Beach were not destroyed

The combination of fog, cloud cover, and changed orders led to :

The Slaughter at Omaha

"At 6.25am, the first wave of landing crafts approached the beach. Opposition would be light, the bombers would have destroyed most of the enemy MG42- machine gun-emplacements and destroyed the artillery covering the beach. But the bombers had been given new orders; they were to drop their bombs seconds later to avoid hitting their own invasion force. They did avoid hitting the invasion force, in fact they hit nothing but fields of wheat, several kilometres behind the beach. The sea bombardment failed as well, and the Higgins boats came closer and closer..."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1006606
 
I would do it.

-I'm in the stage of my life where I'm feeling a physical decline.
-My life insurance is paid up.
-I've had all the kids that I'm going to have already.
-I have my will up to date.

Landing on Omaha beach would be pure terror and excitement.

I'd rather do that landing than some of the landings the Marines did in the Pacific, particularly the one where their landing crafts hit reefs and most of the Marines drowned.:eek:
 
I think we all hope that we would have the faith or the courage or whatever is necessary inside of a man to do the right thing under the circumstances.

The bigger question is whether or not each of us will do the right thing under our present circumstances. A lot of men today won't even stand up and take care of the children they've fathered. A lot of men today can't even hold a steady job or deal honestly with the people around them. Somehow I doubt many of these men would suddenly be war heroes if the opportunity was presented.

Michael Courtney
 
If I were 18 - 22 and feeling invincible ike most kids and I didn't know it was going to be mass suicide..........maybe. I don't think you really know until your put in that situation.
 
I would do it.
But only from my computer chair with several cheat codes, and throw in a battalion of cyber medics ;)

mohaa-3.jpg
 
My grandfather did along with thousands of other Americans and Canadians. I don't think I should be any different.
 
If I was a 19 YO kid six months out of basic and going in with the rest of my unit, probably. Something about not letting the rest of the group down, I guess. That's an incredibly powerful force.
 
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