Today is the 67th anniversary of the Anglo-American landings at Normandy on D-Day. Like a well told tale, the invasion of France has become lore. Movies such as “Saving Private Ryan” and the HBO series “Band of Brothers” provide a reference point to the violence of war. But as we watch these scenes, we are all Monday morning quarterbacks; knowing how history played out, and that the sacrifices on the field of battle cumulatively led to victory.
But the people fighting those battles six decades ago didn’t know that.
For them, how the war would end was very much an open question.
How they acted and what they did, was the ultimate tool of decision.
Indeed, at crucial points during the war, battles turned on the actions of individuals, and those battles determined the course of the war.
It was a very near thing indeed.
History shows that on June 6, 1944, 160,000 US and allied troops were involved in Operation Overlord, the code name for the invasion of Europe. It was and remains the largest amphibious operation in history.
June 6th was also expected to be one of the most lethal days for US troops in American history, with carnage unheard of since the American Civil War.
Allied high command was so concerned about the anticipated, epic levels of violence, destruction and death that would meet the first wave of troops that they were reluctant to assign veterans of other invasions, fearing the men would be overwhelmed and break down. As a result, two of the three US divisions assigned to hit the beaches at Normandy had never been in combat.
And as history turned out, the high command's expectations of violence were more than justified.
At Omaha Beach, the US 1stand 29thInfantry Divisions, and the 2ndand 5thRanger Battalions, faced the veteran German 352ndInfantry Division, one of the best trained units in the German army.
Through acts of commission and omission, the majority of the allied landing craft missed their assigned sectors on Omaha Beach, causing confusion, and in some instances, landing American troops directly in front of German machine gunners.
As a result, casualties among the first wave of trooops were nothing short of catastrophic, where surviving American soliders were leaderless, isolated and traumatized by the violence surrounding them. The situation was so grave that senior commanders considered abandoning Omaha altogether.
But from the unspeakable carnage came a profound courage.
Slowly, small units of infantry, based on nothing more than individual initiative and survival instinct, formed up as ad hoc groups, and began to move the 1,000 yards off the beach to dunes to take on the German pillboxes and establish an allied foothold in Europe.
It was at that critical time of decision that Lt Walter Taylor, Company B (or Baker), 116thInfantry, of the 29thDivision, landed with the second wave.
Coming ashore, Taylor didn’t know that his commanding officers were already dead.
But, seeing the chaos, Taylor immediately took the initiative.
He led a group of men off the beach, crawling past the obstacles, barbed wire and mine fields, and eventually over the sea wall.
He continued to lead his men straight up the bluff and into the town of Vierville, where he engaged the Germans in a two-hour fire fight, and won without losing a man.
It was only later, meeting up with other elements of Baker Company, that Taylor realized that he was in command. The sergeant did a head count – there are only 28 men out of the original 240.
Undeterred, Taylor proceeded to lead the 28 men inland against an imposing German fortification with rock walls and artillery proof tunnels.
Taylor engaged the Germans there and continued the fight throughout the day, leading a force mixed from his company and several Rangers, trying to reach goals outlined in the Overlord plan for Day 1. This despite the fact, borne out on Normandy, that no battle plan survives the beginning of the battle.
By nightfall, Taylor and his men made camp near the village of Louvieres. An allied runner found them with a message to fall back to meet up with the remnants of the battalion, closer to the sea.
Taylor had led his men to a place a half a mile ahead of the rest of the United States Army in Europe. It was an incredible accomplishment.
The violence visited upon US troops landing in France was an experience beyond the confines of common human understanding.
Consider that after ten years of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, US forces have suffered 6,059 combat deaths. By contrast, the US Army Center for Military History estimates that US troops suffered 6,036 causalities on D-Day alone.
Yet despite the violence and destruction, a handful of men, like Taylor, marched on, took initiative and carried the day.
Time and again, when the odds have been daunting, individual American courage, determination and resourcefulness have been the common element in uncommon valor; valor that has decided the course of history.
For his efforts on June 6th, Lt. Taylor was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The accompanying citation states, “Second Lieutenant Taylor's intrepid actions, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 29th Infantry Division, and the United States Army.”
As a nation, we are continually blessed to have such men and women.
As for Taylor himself, he survived the war.
He passed on April 17, 2003, a retiree of the Baltimore Police Department.
May God bless him and all those who fought, sacrificed and died on that terrible day so that Europe could be whole and free.
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