Posted: 1/25/2010 9:04:14 PM EDT
I've always wondered this. In this video at about 2:05 to 2:10, you see some good guys running up the beach. It appears a couple get shot. Has anyone ever figured out who these men were, or what their fate was? ETA: Edited out Marines so the thread doesn't get derailed. It's actually a serious question. |
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Quoted:
Dan Daly and Smedley Butler were the only Marines to particiapte in the Normandy landings. They are the guys getting greased in this film. edit; Little known fact, they were both nominated for their 3rd Medals Of Honor for the Normandy landing. One died in 37 and the other in 40. |
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Dan Daly and Smedley Butler were the only Marines to particiapte in the Normandy landings. They are the guys getting greased in this film. edit; Little known fact, they were both nominated for their 3rd Medals Of Honor for the Normandy landing. One died in 37 and the other in 40. What? Really!? 
Must have been a couple of other Marines. I'm guessing Manilla John Basilone and Lou Diamond made a cameo on Omaha Beach. |
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From what I've read, there were only a handful of Marines involved with the D-Day landings. A few were attached to the OSS and aided the French Resistance immediately prior to the drops/landings, and IIRC, there were a few observers attached to US Army units.
That said, the odds that the guys in that video were Marines are slim. I don't recall ever having seen any information on what beach that footage was shot on, or what unit the soldiers were from. ETA: If it was Omaha, then they'd be from either the 29th ID, 1st ID or Rangers. If it's Utah, most likely 4th ID. |
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Actually....there were a detachment of Marines on the battleship USS Texas that almost saw action. The "Texas" was supporting the Ranger task force assaulting Pointe due Hoc (point of land between Omaha and Utah beaches). The Rangers scaled the cliffs, secured the fortifications at the top, demolished artillery pieces a mile or so back from the cliffs (their original objective), and cut the shore highway....preventing the Germans from moving personnel East-West. However.......they got chewed up in the process. Reinforcements due in from Omaha Beach never showed (except for a small detachment from "Able, 5th Rangers led my Lt. Charlie Parker).
Marines on the "Texas" were chomping at the bit.....looking to go ashore and reinforce the Rangers. Even went so far as to break open the arms room and issue rifles and grenades! At the last minute....they were told to "stand down" (popular legend says that Army brass got wind of the Marines' plans and essentially said "No farkin' way are we gonna' allow Marines to "rescue" the Army Rangers). Edited to add.....I went back and watched the parts of the video you were talking about. Those are "Commonwealth" troops......either Brit or Canadian. Gold, Sword and/or Juno beaches...... |
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1st or 29th Inf. More likely 29th.
Shot by John Ford and a team of Coast Guard combat cameramen? Ford states he landed after the first wave, not sure where, find out where and you can narrow it down. Co. A 116th of the 29th was the first unit to hit the beach, it was pretty much annihilated. |
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I am pretty sure it was a couple of the beaches, I saw multiple nationalities. Perhapse.......this crappy computer I'm on doesn't really "like" Youtube (or video in general). I just fast forwarded to the spots he specified. The first scene is definately Brit (or Canadian). The second scene? Could be US..... |
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Quoted:
1st or 29th Inf. More likely 29th. Shot by John Ford and a team of Coast Guard combat cameramen? Ford states he landed after the first wave, not sure where, find out where and you can narrow it down. Co. A 116th of the 29th was the first unit to hit the beach, it was pretty much annihilated. John Ford was came ashore on "Omaha" from the USS Plunket durring the 2nd wave. I'll dig around and try to narrow it down further.... |
| Maybe 6000 guys died that day, mostly on Omaha....the rest of the beaches made it all theway to the hedgerows. Utah had some problems trying to find the big guns. Omaha was where injured and dead were dragged forward to the seawall, becuse of the intense zippers. Hitler did not want to be awaken so the 5 beaches after about 6-7 hours were already established, but he had two Panzer divisions waiting, warmed up and gassed. |
| I met an old timer about ten years ago who landed a boat that day.I thought he said he was the first boat to do so.(any way to find out who did?)He was in Providence RI running a poultry bus,real nice guy. i'm not sure if he's still alive.He had a wall full of newspaper clippings from the war,and from when he returned. |