Our Ride to the Shore

[jim armstroong]

 

WW II History Lesson #3 - There will be a pop quiz on this but don't know when!!!!

 

This why we should pray daily for our service people who are on Active Duty Anywhere!!!!!!!!! (P.S I HATE remembering this trip even today)

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The Ride to the Beach:-

 

We left England aboard a troop ship just about a week after D-Day and there wasn't a whole lot a space aboard the ship but the trip was fairly short. When we got about a half mile off-shore they dropped cargo nets over the side and I'm sure you remember the drill. Groups of sixes were lined up and approached the side to descend into the Higgin's boats that were coming along side when the word was given-down you went with all your gear. (Note - The Channel must be loaded with the gas masks that were thrown over the side as excess weight.)

 

Due to the swell that was running this day, the sailors had painted a line on the ship's side below which you were not to go. In truth,it wasn't too high but to us it looked liked we had to climb down from a very high place into a a canoe which was to hold about a Platoon of Infantry.

 

The swell had guys sick just looking down at the boat and one guy got so agitated he didn't think to stop at the painted line and when the swell carried the Higgins boat up it knocked him off the cargo net and he was gone. I've always remembered that because we hadn't even got onto the landing craft and we had lost a man that I knew very well. That sobered everybody and all talking stopped. Even the nervous type of talking trying to hide your fears.

 

Then the circling began until the required number of Higgins boats were filled and this took time and caused a lot of the men on the boat to get sea sick. By the time we were lined up in our wave, we were knee deep in vomit and God forbid you fell down but several men did and it wasn't pretty.

 

One man in the Plt. was lying on the deck and when we got to the beach he said he was too sick to walk ashore let alone fight if he had to. The Plt. Ldr.told him that if he didn't get up and in position he would go back to the troop ship and surely be sent back to the beach again. That was enough to get him on his feet and to wade ashore(thankfully this washed a lot on the vomit off him in the process) so he looked and smelled much better.

 

The next day the "sick" man approached me and was very upset because he said he just realized that in order to get back to the States,if he "made it',he would have to get back on a ship and he didn't think he would be able to do so.

 

I'm happy to say he made it back to Michigan and after a number of years died in his own bed at home with his wife and family around him.

 

Here's what it looked like -talk about a cattle boat and the Krauts were using REAL BULLETS OY VEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Sgtleo

[Dogdaddy]

Hello Sgt. Leo-

My God! I think about this every single time I watch a WWII DVD involving an amphibious landing!!! I used to be an avid Salmon & Halibut fisherman, but it took me a long time of doing it before I ever developed my "sea legs." To me there is NOTHING WORSE than sea-sickness! I have often wondered how men were able to fight at all after circling around in rough seas and then making the wave bustin' straight on trip towards the beach. I am not kidding a bit...it really is beyond my comprehension. I don't think I could do it myself...even under fire and/or orders. I am getting queesy right now just typing this post... Nothing like the smell of diesel, cordite and vomit to make your day...

 

 

 

Jim

[Sgtleo]

Dogdaddy:-

 

 

There is very good chance that despite what you say after all the Basic and Advance Training that the conditioned reflex sets in and you start acting/reacting to what you have been taught to do.

 

The man I spoke of that was lying in the yuck on the deck took his spot and began to function as he should. It wasn't until night had set in and there was a lull that he began to worry about getting on a boat again.

 

Many people ridicule the training but it is so ingrained that you don't have to stop and think as you might expect - you just do it. I have seen men do some very extraordinary things and it wasn't until the incident or whatever was over and they began to think about what they had done that the tremors etc. set in.

 

Sgtleo

[Dogdaddy]

Sgt.-

I Roger that, but it's still pretty hard to imagine. Then again, I doubt you'd get any sympathy from the enemy by sayin' "Hey...lemme alone, I'm sick as a dog!" Heck, I couldn't even talk my fishin' buddy into taking me back to the dock before he caught his limit (and mine!) of halibut! Thank you for another great story!

 

 

[chambers]

Ugh, I'm not a water person. I couldn't have ever made it in the Navy, that's for sure.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Hugs,

Brooke

[Walt's Daughter]

I'm with you Chambers. Deep water literally scares the hell out of me. I cringe when I think of having to go over the side to get into a Higgins boat.

 

And getting seasick...

 

To me there is NOTHING WORSE than sea-sickness! I have often wondered how men were able to fight at all after circling around in rough seas and then making the wave bustin' straight on trip towards the beach. I am not kidding a bit...it really is beyond my comprehension. I don't think I could do it myself...even under fire and/or orders. I am getting queesy right now just typing this post...  Nothing like the smell of diesel, cordite and vomit to make your day...

 

Many vets have shared their seasick stories with me. Makes me want to vomit. Sorry. I too cannot imagine getting out of the boat, feeling like you were going to die, then having to face combat. I have a really strong constitution and am not a wimp by any means, but I hate, did I say HATE! being sick to my stomach. I can't stand being around anyone or anything when I feel that way. Man, my heart goes out to all you guys.

[Sgtleo]

 

If you hate boat trips and deep water how about a boat (ship is proper term my Navy brother would have told me) ride like this from the ETO back to NYC. This was on one of the calmer days.

 

The entire trip took ELEVEN (11) days to complete. We had a couple of guys that almost died from being so seasick and got dehydrated plus the two step quick march etc.

 

There were also a couple of days we were not allowed out on deck because the deck was UNDER WATER. Glad I was brought up in a seaport and grew up around all kinds of boats. Never got sick and ate a lot of the chow the other guys couldn't even look at. Wasn't about to waste food after 2+ years on rations!!

 

 

 

 

 

Sgtleo -

[chambers]

I went to see the battleship North Carolina last year and although I enjoyed my tour, I found myself thinking of being one little ant among 600 or 700 others in that ship out in the middle of nowhere with NO land in sight and it was quite disturbing!

 

Brooke

[Sgtleo]

 

Brooke

 

You would have never made it then on a troop ship where you had to walk sideways to go from point A to Point B. Some of the bunks were 8 or 9 high and on the way over if we wanted to turn over in the bunk we had to get out - turn around and then get back into the bunk. God forbid you stepped on someone's fingers while doing the balancing act to turn over.

 

The bigger worry was that somebody higher up than you would get sick and...........that made things messy. It was also hard because ALL your equipment including your rifle was also in the bunk with you.

 

It was no pleasure cruise and with the crowded conditions it was a big plus to get up on deck and breath some fresh air.

 

Thank God they fly the people today!!

 

Sgtleo

[Dogdaddy]

Ah heck....just look at these spacious living conditions!