Active Unit News

D-Day and the 4th
Bob Babcock - "Deeds not Words"
President, Americans Remembered, Inc. - http://www.americansremembered.org
President, 22nd Inf Regt Society - http://www.22ndinfantry.org
Past President/Historian - Nat'l 4th Inf Div Assn - http://www.4thinfantry.org
babcock224@aol.com


59 Years Ago Today - June 6, 1944 - D-Day
Today is one of the biggest days in the great and proud history of the 4th Infantry Division. It was on this date, at 0630 in the morning, that the 4th Infantry Division stormed ashore on Utah Beach, on the Normandy coast of France, in the invasion that began the ultimate defeat of Adolph Hitler and the Nazis.
Led by the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, all three Infantry Regiments of the 4ID (8th, 22nd, 12th) were ashore by soon after noon. Although casualties on Utah Beach were light in comparison to the Airborne forces who had dropped in overnight, and the carnage that the 1st Infantry and 29th Infantry Divisions experienced on Omaha Beach (as depicted in the movie "Saving Private Ryan"), the 4ID did have almost 200 casualties that day, including 60 men lost when their boat carrying Battery B, 29th Field Artillery hit a mine in the water. (Irving Smolens, who receives these updates, was in a backup boat with other B/29 Field Artillery soldiers and helped rebuild the battery after he got to shore).
It was on D-Day that Brigadier Teddy Roosevelt, Jr., assistant division commander of the 4ID, went ashore with the first wave. When he saw that the landing was 2,000 yards to the left of where they should have landed, he turned to COL Van Fleet, the 8th Infantry Regimental commander and said, "We'll start the war from here." For his fearless leadership on the beach that day as he encouraged the landing troops, BG Roosevelt earned the Medal of Honor. (Bill Parfitt, who also receives these updates, was Teddy Roosevelt's body guard that day).
For the next 299 days, the 4ID fought the Germans without relief. No other American division suffered more casualties in the European theater than did the 4ID, and no other division accomplished as much.
Although June 6 was a relatively light casualty day for the 4ID, they suffered over 5,500 casualties in the subsequent days of June, far more than any other division, as they battled through the hedgerows and took the port city of Cherbourg.
Last year, at Fort Hood, MG Ray Odierno and the current 4ID soldiers hosted 12 D-Day veterans of the 4ID as our current division celebrated the division's birthday. Even though the 4ID was formed in December 1917, it is fitting that June 6, D-Day, forever be the day that we celebrate the 4ID and their accomplishments. As we celebrate the 86th year of the 4ID, let us not forget our soldiers who built our great heritage and history in WWI, WWII, the Cold War, and Vietnam - and those who paid the ultimate price while wearing the Ivy Leaf patch. And, today's soldiers in Iraq are writing the next chapter of our great and proud history. STEADFAST AND LOYAL! IRONHORSE!
And unsolicited by me, I just received the following note from Bill Parfitt, BG Roosevelt's body guard, describing his memories from 59 years ago:
59 yrs ago this day (June 5) I was puking over the side of a landing craft. One just big enough to have a jeep aboard. Getting more scared as I looked about at the tremendous number of boats involved in the landing, which I made about 6:30 the following morning. Can still recall a lot of it but time takes away some. The damned seasickness was most disruptive to all. I don't remember anyone that didn't get damned sick. We played poker on the hood of the jeep using the invasion money that was given to us. ... I can remember going over the side of the bigger craft and making it ok. It was so rough that we lost a couple of guys with broken legs trying to transfer.
Remember the general and colonels gathering in an area near the Limey soldier driving the landing craft. My memory jumps around as I try to account for the long times spent in line and then aproaching the beach. I do remember that the rain had quit when we landed. ... The jumping off, the cold as hell water and the rush to the beaches is sorta blurry but I remember grabbing one of those welded pipe things (obstacles in the water) and reloading the rifle. Don't remember a bit about shooting though. I seem to remember reloading 3 times this way. The run to the sea wall was quick. Do remember the first meeting of the Generals behind the sea wall. The one used in the book (The Longest Day) for the first meeting. I remember Gen Teddy without his helmet. Also remember later on when Gen Hodges chewed his ass for not wearing it. Even then it ended up in the jeep. He detested the steel helmet.
So a few memories of the past. Was just thinking , how many of those guys are still alive//?? - damn few. Well old buddy, keep up the good work. I read all of it and understand how all are interested in getting mail. There are so many married guys now with families and all. . I was the unusual one being married.. All of us were young and about 20 give or take one or two. Now there are more of the career guys.
OK I shall shut down. Have a nice remembering day.
(If you don't believe in miracles, I think God told Bill to write that note so all our family members could hear the D-Day story from one who made the landing, what better way to feel our great 4ID history - thanks a million, Big Foot! (size 15 shoes))
(And another current 4ID unit, 299th Engineers of the 1st Brigade, not part of 4ID on D-Day, were the "First on Omaha Beach" as they wrote their history in blood on that portion of the D-Day invasion).
====================

Back to Active Unit Main News Page