How Dad Survived Omaha Beach
It was a memory my father seldom mentioned. When he did, he said little.
His U.S. Navy LCT (Landing Craft Tank) was sunk June 6, 1944 at Omaha Beach.
The Normandy Invasion changed history, turning the tide on a murderous Nazi regime. It changed world order, and its impact is felt today.
But Dad regretted a strategic decision.
“The brass got the tides wrong,” he said.
The invasion was delayed by bad weather on June 5. On June 6 at 06:00 clouds obscured heavily fortified heights held by German forces looming above Omaha Beach.
He recalled heavy seas and strong cross currents doomed the landing for his 110 foot flat bottom LCT. The vessel, its tanks and crewmen foundered.
But Dad was lucky. He survived artillery and machine gun fire. A Canadian warship plucked him from the waves.
The low tide was chosen by Supreme Allied Commander U.S. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower to expose enemy obstructions on the beach, according to official accounts.
History found the Allied invasion date the best of poor options. German forces expected Allied landfall at the closer French shore of Calais.
