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The 508th
PIR men never forget those first days in Normandy. For days, they were
fighting alone or in small groups, killing Germans, and disrupting traffic
and communications. Always looking for Americans or friendly units and
moving toward their objectives.
Initially,
the 508th PIR evolved into four fighting groups. Each group
consisted of officers and men from the 505th, 507th
and 508th regiments, and men from the 101st Airborne
Division. The first letter of the leader’s last name identified each
group, as follows.
·
Colonel Roy Lindquist led group “L”. The group
was about 200 strong, and assembled near La Fiere.
·
Major Shields Warren led group “W”. It fought
to within 500 yards of Picauville, and held the high ground south of Gueutteville,
·
Lt. Col. Thomas Shanley led Group “S.” The group
of about a platoon of men fought off a reinforced German battalion.
Near noon the group broke contact with the Germans and moved east to Picauville,
on the way, it picked up 150 officers and men. Later, Group S and
Group W merged. The new group totaled about 400 men but lacked weapons.
It had only three light machineguns, one Browning automatic rifle, and one
60mm mortar tube. During that night, the group moved to Hill 30 west
of the Merderet River and south of Gueutteville, and organized to defend
the hill.
·
Group G was commanded by Captain Novack. Company
G was the only unit of the 508 that landed intact. It quickly
secured the east end of the causeway across the Merderet River at Chef du
Pont and routed a German infantry company from the bridge at Ste Mere Eglise.
In summary,
the June 6, 508th PIR assault into Normandy evolved into a
series of uncoordinated, serendipitous actions by heroic men, united by the
common objective -- prevent the Germans from reinforcing the defenders
of the Normandy beaches.
This album
was prepared to permit a few of the available Hq1 men to present their memoirs.
Some of their recollections follow.
Kenneth Merritt
a Hq1 LMG Squad Leader says, “I recall flying over the English Channel.
It was full of ships. I did not think there were that many ships in
the world, but they sure looked good.
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