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Scott & Wes Frog Fan Forum
D-Day - thoughts, stories?
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<blockquote data-quote="Virginia Frog" data-source="post: 2727287" data-attributes="member: 4959"><p>My father handled ordinance - for gunfire and depth charges - on the destroyer ("tanks of the sea") USS Thompson. The Thompson was in the battlegroup with battleships Tex and Ark for the first assault on Omaha Beach's western sector and Pointe du Hoc. (Omaha was divided into 17 areas for military planning.)</p><p></p><p>Pre-dawn, before the initial landings - the destroyers of this group were to support/protect those battleships and then were commanded to fire away to "soften up" the German defenses.</p><p></p><p>They then sailed "back out of range." A couple of hours. later around 9AM with the American Omaha assault failing they were ordered "back in" along with 5 other destroyers and the Texas. This group of ships are credited with saving the Omaha assault and effected materially the Pointe de Hoc victory.</p><p></p><p>The historians say that these ships "went in at great potential peril." You see the beach here is a part of a cove where the land beneath the surf is very shallow. These ships could have easily been grounded and become easy targets themselves.</p><p></p><p>Apparently, there were many "hits" made by these six Destroyers/US Texas and it "turned the tide."</p><p></p><p>I know this because I traveled to Normandy last Sept and was flabergasted to learn this.</p><p>At three monuments - The US Naval assault monument at Utah Beach (dedicated by Reagan in '84), one at the Vierville draw (the mission focus of the Omaha campaign), and another in the Museum at the National Cemetery all make the point in their banners of these seven ships' vital role that morning.</p><p></p><p>My father always referred to the action there as "the Normandy Invasion." I never once heard him say the term D-Day or tell of the peril he faced. It was always like "we went in" and shelled, we came back in a couple hours later and "did it again" and then sailed back to England - like it was a walk in the park!</p><p></p><p>The Thompson also was a player in the "Invasion of southern France" on the Côte d'Azur called Operation Dragoon, another D-Day-esque engagement on August 15, 1944. He never seem too fazed about all this action.</p><p></p><p>Two other things:</p><p>The overused term "Operation Overlord" is incorrect in the American Naval operation that was what we now know as D-Day (most people are really referring to the action at Omaha.) It was called "Operation Neptune." I learned this at the Caen Memorial Museum, Center for History and Peace in Normandy (Rick Steves' gave it his best rating of all the Norman D-Day museums.)</p><p></p><p>Second: My father was in the US National Guard for nine years (1934-42.) He didn't re-up after he was married. After sitting out for a couple years with a Federal job supporting the war he decided he didn't want to be in the Army again so Navy he went. His National Guard unit later became a part of the 116th of the 29th Army Div. If you are a D-Day buff you know that the 116th WAS the first wave of soldiers-in and suffered btween 80-90% casualties. Yep, there wouldn't be Virginia Frog writing this if Dad had gone back into the Army!</p><p></p><p>One other thing:</p><p></p><p>If you go to Normandy, don't try the one-day-from -Paris idea. Plan several days. At least 2 at the beaches, 1 go to the spectacular Mont St Michel, do Rouen (Joan of Arc site, incredible Medieval town) and Honfleur (A delightful seaside area where many impressionists painted.) Car rentals are a must, I found it to be affordable at under Euro200 for 8 days (Europcar) - gas is too way much though - US$7+ per gal.</p><p></p><p>Post script: I was able to see what the USS Thompson looked like since it was the ship in the title roll in the famous 1953 film "Caine Mutiny" starring Humphrey Bogart as "Captain Queeg", Fred McMurray, Van Johnson and Jose Ferrer. The original novel was written by Herman Woulk who died just a few weeks ago at 103 - My dad would be 103 today as well!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Virginia Frog, post: 2727287, member: 4959"] My father handled ordinance - for gunfire and depth charges - on the destroyer ("tanks of the sea") USS Thompson. The Thompson was in the battlegroup with battleships Tex and Ark for the first assault on Omaha Beach's western sector and Pointe du Hoc. (Omaha was divided into 17 areas for military planning.) Pre-dawn, before the initial landings - the destroyers of this group were to support/protect those battleships and then were commanded to fire away to "soften up" the German defenses. They then sailed "back out of range." A couple of hours. later around 9AM with the American Omaha assault failing they were ordered "back in" along with 5 other destroyers and the Texas. This group of ships are credited with saving the Omaha assault and effected materially the Pointe de Hoc victory. The historians say that these ships "went in at great potential peril." You see the beach here is a part of a cove where the land beneath the surf is very shallow. These ships could have easily been grounded and become easy targets themselves. Apparently, there were many "hits" made by these six Destroyers/US Texas and it "turned the tide." I know this because I traveled to Normandy last Sept and was flabergasted to learn this. At three monuments - The US Naval assault monument at Utah Beach (dedicated by Reagan in '84), one at the Vierville draw (the mission focus of the Omaha campaign), and another in the Museum at the National Cemetery all make the point in their banners of these seven ships' vital role that morning. My father always referred to the action there as "the Normandy Invasion." I never once heard him say the term D-Day or tell of the peril he faced. It was always like "we went in" and shelled, we came back in a couple hours later and "did it again" and then sailed back to England - like it was a walk in the park! The Thompson also was a player in the "Invasion of southern France" on the Côte d'Azur called Operation Dragoon, another D-Day-esque engagement on August 15, 1944. He never seem too fazed about all this action. Two other things: The overused term "Operation Overlord" is incorrect in the American Naval operation that was what we now know as D-Day (most people are really referring to the action at Omaha.) It was called "Operation Neptune." I learned this at the Caen Memorial Museum, Center for History and Peace in Normandy (Rick Steves' gave it his best rating of all the Norman D-Day museums.) Second: My father was in the US National Guard for nine years (1934-42.) He didn't re-up after he was married. After sitting out for a couple years with a Federal job supporting the war he decided he didn't want to be in the Army again so Navy he went. His National Guard unit later became a part of the 116th of the 29th Army Div. If you are a D-Day buff you know that the 116th WAS the first wave of soldiers-in and suffered btween 80-90% casualties. Yep, there wouldn't be Virginia Frog writing this if Dad had gone back into the Army! One other thing: If you go to Normandy, don't try the one-day-from -Paris idea. Plan several days. At least 2 at the beaches, 1 go to the spectacular Mont St Michel, do Rouen (Joan of Arc site, incredible Medieval town) and Honfleur (A delightful seaside area where many impressionists painted.) Car rentals are a must, I found it to be affordable at under Euro200 for 8 days (Europcar) - gas is too way much though - US$7+ per gal. Post script: I was able to see what the USS Thompson looked like since it was the ship in the title roll in the famous 1953 film "Caine Mutiny" starring Humphrey Bogart as "Captain Queeg", Fred McMurray, Van Johnson and Jose Ferrer. The original novel was written by Herman Woulk who died just a few weeks ago at 103 - My dad would be 103 today as well! [/QUOTE]
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