Tonight, I was talking to my dad at dinner, and one way or another I asked him if my grandfather (his dad) was in WWII. My dad informed me that he landed at Normandy, and that he was injured by a howitzer shell that landed next to him (spent 4 years in the hospital). Somewhat recently, I've become very interested in the invasion of Normandy, and WWII in general, and this information (for reasons unknown to me) fills me with a sense of pride. My question is, is there any way to determine which beach he landed on? I ask you guys because my dad says grandpa doesn't like to talk about it, not even with my dad. I'm determined to go to France just to see the Omaha and Utah beach, and I really want to know where my grandpa landed. Does anyone have any way of finding out?

Thanks for helping me!

XXL

 

If you find out what unit he was with ,that would go a long way to determine where he landed.



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Dennis would be correct about finding out which unit he was in. You may want to try to find the video about the Normandy invasion. I would suggest the Battlefield series and there are 2- 1 hour tapes available. One is the prelude to the battle which explains all of the politics and tactics and players. The other is the Battle of Normandy, The Battle. It will show you the deployment of each of the units, movements, and units they were joined with. It's the most extensive of any video series I have seen on WW2 and yes I am a collector of WW2 film.

 

Yes, Dennis is exactly right.....If you can get your grandads service number somehow you could have your father write the war department (like he was your granfather) and obtain copies of his service file and there might be a copy of his orders just prior to the commencement of fighting on june 6th of 44 telling where he would be sent.....Remember that no one Knew where they were going to be sent until the operation had begun because the germans really never figured out Exactly where the Troops were going to land......Very elaborate plans were implemented too confuse the Krauts and they worked for the most part......fd

 

Also you may try to track down a few of the guys that were in his unit with him and contact them. Most of them would be glad to help you although by now most would be in their 80s.

I love WW2 history and what you are trying to do is great. The men who fought in that war are leaving us fast and many of them have fascinating stories to tell, but you'd be surprised to see how many of them assume noone cares nowadays about the things that happened to them over 50 years ago.

I've had the honor of speaking with several WW2 and even a few WW1 veterans about their wartime experiences and it's quite an eye opener. Really puts things into perspective for a guy like me who has been blessed with a good job, family and a relatively peaceful life.

One WW2 vet that was a customer of mine, now deceased, was well into his 70s when I was talking to him about the Gulf war over ten years ago. He told me he thought it was a bad deal to send all those young boys over there and that we'd be better off sending old vets like him over since he'd been through that before and already knew what to expect. Go figure. They don't make many men like that anymore.

 

Why not just test the waters with your grandfather? Maybe he would like the attention............
One of the ferries that runs from here to Long Island used to be an LST, and actually landed at Normandy. This company has a lot of old Navy equipment, like a freshly restored YTL (tug), a YTT (Yard Tug Tender, aka floating machine shop), and they used to have some sort of troop barge.

Jared

 

Our family tried for years to get my Grandmother to talk about her life with no success.
Then ,At my Grandmother's 85th Birthday I had positioned a Video camera in one corner of the room and run a microphone to with 5-6 ft of her.She had No idea it was there.

I got all of the family involved into talking with her about her experiences in life (1895-1987).
She opened right up about all sorts of things.
Our family now feels very fortunate to have got all this information on tape before she took it to the grave.




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[updated:LAST EDITED ON 24-Dec-02 AT 01:23 AM (EST)]Just find out which unit he was with. The U.S. First Army participated in the Normandy invasion, with units from the V (5) and VII (7) Corps participating. The 4th Infantry Division (VII Corps) landed at Utah Beach, which was by far the easier of the two. The devastating losses you see dramatized to great effect in Saving Private Ryan took place on Omaha Beach. Units of the 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions (V Corps) landed at Omaha.

He may not have been infantry. The 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions also participated in D-Day. Most were supposed to be dropped behind Utah Beach, but most missed their assigned drop zones and wound up scattered all over Normandy.

 

BigMattXXL,Tell your Grandad I said THANK YOU for serving,without him and many more men we wouldn't be here now. I've had the privilege and honor to meet some surviving members of the 509th Composite Group,the guys who dropped the bombs on Japan to end the war,some were crew members on Enola Gay,some flew in Bock's Car,they used to attend the Lake County,Il. gun show.They had lots of photos with them I'd never seen before,and I'm a student of WWII. At these same shows I also met some of the toughest men I'll ever meet,survivors of the USS Indianapolis,it turned out in speaking with them one gentleman grew up in the neighborhood my family is from. They had many photos of the Indianapolis they'd taken before it's tragic loss and spoke to me at some length. Earlier this year I was privilged to meet Roy while I was going to physical therapy(on a work related injury).Roy was a disabled veteran on the 442nd Battalion,he was one of the original voluteers. His home and all possesions were lost when he and his family were placed in a US concentration camp by our government. Yet when the the government asked for volunteers he and his brother,along with many other Nissei,joined up and fought with great distinction.Roy lost his right leg,some fingers on his hands and suffered horrible wounds to his left leg when a comrade of his stepped on a mine.His wounds have had him in and out of V.A. hospitals for a large portion of his life since WWII.His brother was killed in action.,yet this man not only didn't regret his service,he said if needed he would go again. I appologized for the way our country treated him and his family and he shrugged it off saying that's just the way the times were. These men and all the others who served in WWII truly are America's greatest generation. I hope you can find the unit your Grandad served wit and maybe even some survivors of that unit,good luck.

 

when i was really young most of my family wasnt really there like a family should be, so my mothers in-laws basically became my "family"
my "grandfather" was a sargent of some sort in WWII and was shot by a sniper in Coldberg Germany in 1944. he took an 8 m.m. rifle round to the head and survived. they dont make 'em like they used to.
the shot went through one of his fingers, into his earlove and out his other cheek. i was ten years old when i found interest in the wars, but by then he was too old and sick to speak of the war. thats something i really regret but ill always be proud of him. my grandmother though, is always happy to share his stories for him, as hes no longer with us. my father was on alert during the cuban missle crisis, he said hes never been so worried in his life about anything as he did that. that whole deal fizzled out to nothing thankfully.

BuiltToughF250

 

If you are interested in a factual account of what happened at Normandy, from a British, American, French, AND German perspective read the book "The Longest Day" by Cornelius Ryan. After the war, he interviewed a great number of participants of the warring nations, from generals down to buck privates. He colated the experiences into the book. It is truly a fascinating read.
There is also a movie of the same name, starring some of Hollywood's biggest stars of the time. It follows the book pretty closely.
Tell your Grandpa I'm thankful for the sacrifice he made so I could live in a free country.

 

Wow - didn't think this many people cared. I got some more info from my dad - he said my grandpa was an "enlisted rifle carrier", which I'm guessing is your typical grunt. More info to follow.

XXL

 

Good luck on your search...
Try searching the web sites by Unit. Most of them have their own or links to others...IE First Infantry Division or Patton's 3rd Armored and you'l probalby get good hits by searching Omaha/utah beach as well...I wouldnt be surprised if ya entered his name and came up with a hit...
My thanks to your Gran dad..."If we dont honor them, then who will"

 

My friend's dad is one of the men that "stopped" the tank attack at the Battle of the Bulge, the scene depicted in the movie where the bazooka teams shot the tanks in the belly. He received the Silver Star for his actions. He says he functioned out of fear, just did his job, and if he had known everyone else had run away, he would have run too. It was as simple as that. He died a few years ago, but I will always remember him and all the other brave men that fought for us.