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Our higher command had pulled no punches and every
man was resigned to the fact that this would be a
nasty task and casualties would be heavy In fact just
two or three days before we sailed Lt. General Leonard T Gerow
our former Division commander and than Fifth Corps Commander
had sat in our C.P. and said "We'll take that beachhead if
it takes every man in the Corps" and for a while that
morning we thought it might But somehow each
of us was willing to pay the full price if necessary
-- because we believed in what we were fighting
for The general attitude of most of us was
"lets get it over with" which tied in very closely to
our division battle cry "29 Let's Go" We also had another
incentive this would be our first baptism by enemy fire
and we were determined to do as well as our battle
tested partner on the left the 16th Infantry of the 1st Division
We also had the reputation of our famous Virginia National
Guard Regiment to uphold Our regimental motto was "Ever Forward
a very fitting slogan for that day in fact that was the
only way to go because most of us were seasick when
we landed and wanted no more of those little boats
You might say most of us felt kind of cocky and
proud to have a part in this biggest of all amphibious
operations The words of General Omar Bradley still ring
in my ears as he told us goodbye in England shaking
each of us by the hand He said "You gentlemen don't
know how fortunate you are to have a ringside seat
at the biggest show in the world"
We were so busy thinking about all these things
we really didn't have much time to worry about getting kill
We had breakfast at 0330 6 June in the Captains
Cabin Commander Beismeyer Lt Col Lawrence E Mecks Roanoke , Va
my Battalion Commander and I Commander Beismeyer said since
this is your last meal you can have anything you want
if I have it on board So I had eggs sunny side up with
steak and finished it off with ice cream and Logan berries
I was sorry a couple hours later as we went round
and round in those little LCVPs (30 man boats)among waves
that appeared to be ten feet high Boy was I sick! But