James Branch Omaha Beach - Pfc, Hq Co, 1st Bn, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Division Version Française

We boarded a Danish ship in Swansea Wales on the 5 June Sailed around the tip of England and up the English Channel on the 6 June 1944. Arriving at Omaha Beach at about Noon on the 6 June. Stayed aboard ship the night of 6 June and was both strafed and bombed while aboard this ship.

I came ashore on 7 June 1944 of the three Regiments of the Second Infantry division; the 9^th and the 38^th were the first to come ashore. At the time we came ashore everything that would float was floating in the surf. Gas mask, back packs, life preservers, dead bodies, body parts, spare tires and a multitude of other things. We were catching a lot of artillery fire from shore batteries that had not yet been knocked out.

The surf was rough and the landing craft was pitching wildly in the surf and making it hard for the coxwain to get the craft ashore in the appointed place. Our landing craft hit a sandbar some 50 yards out and thinking we were at the beach they lowered the ramp and I was intending to be the first one off, because it was rumoured aboard ship that the German gunners would zero in on a landing craft, and as soon as the ramp came down they would try to put a round in the landing craft and we were told on one occasion they succeeded killing all except one of the 100 men aboard that craft. I had positioned myself in the front of the craft and when the ramp went down I went off to the side going in over my head holding my rifle and ammo high. Finally straightening up I could hold my head back and wade ashore.

For the first 2 Hours it was utter chaos and confusion. Finally reaching our assembly point on 7 June we relieved units of the 1^st Division North of Trevières.

Our first baptism of fire came on 9 June when we were ordered to attack south at High Noon. We encountered stiff resistance around Trevières. We were attacking without our heavy weapons, as they were to come ashore yet. We crossed the L'Aure River. After house-to-house battling in Trevières we then move to take Cerisy. Then we captured a road junction near Haute Littee cutting the Saint Lô Bayeux highway, then one our companies took the village of Vaucrevon. On our first 2 days in combat we advanced a total of 17 Kilometers. Not bad for a first time in combat Infantry Regiment without its Heavy weapons. Our aim was Saint Lô via hill 192, which is another story in itself.

We were greatly harassed by German sniper fire all the way. That gets us off the beach.

James Branch    (May 16, 2002)