I looked up into the dismal sky and saw dark meaningless clouds daunting above us, there was a slight downfall and sharp flashes were going of above us.
We were nearly there; as the bunkers grew closer and closer my nerves progressively grew out of control. The closer I became to landing on the beaches the more gunshots I heard, by this time I wanted to go back, but I knew the only way out was to advance forward. All around me men were shaking rapidly, strong looking men being sick. I wonder still now…, has any one been through what I have? Would any one deal with this in such a manner like I have or rather could anyone keep the nerves steady? I think in this situation no one could handle being faced with death. I knew casualties were going to be a definite but I didn’t realise how many severed body’s lying motionless on the beaches there would be.
We were half a mile of Omaha beach, the nerves now were erupting, men couldn’t control themselves, it was as if they were doomed to die and the worst part was they knew they had no chance of survival. Not only the nerves were going out of control but the stomach as well, rations were limited and so concentration was not at its best.
Bombs were shattering the waters surface at all angles, the screaming noise of the German dive bombers coming down was a most unpleasant feeling – time stopped and everybody and everything for that matter fell motionless. No one would stir……waiting……waiting for the crushing pain which would see them out of this mess or the pain of it not being them and having to endure the horrors which the new faced them.
Moments later my comrades and I came into view of two large figures gazing upon us like the weaklings which we felt. The breaches upon the beach were huge in size, our job was to get past these but we knew this would no be an easy task. All I could think of was memory’s back home and whether or not I would be able to relive these moments again. A few boats had already come and gone which is where all the carnage on the beach came from. Upon the beaches we saw mass amount of body parts hanging here and there, blood stained the sea and beach making it look like a day of reckoning and carnage, which is what it turned out to be.
“2 minutes till landing”
These words buried deep into the minds of the men which would never let them forget, and indeed me myself wasn’t particularly happy when I heard them myself because I knew what was about to happen. I knew that as soon as we reached the beach gunfire from above and within the breaches would be upon us like the ground being covered with a dense white sheet after a snowstorm. But we couldn’t do anything about it.
“1 minute till landing”
I could feel my heart thrusting up and down side to side; my nerves were pulsing within my skin, just the presence of being close to this soon to be massacre was an immense feeling within itself and we hadn’t even set foot on the beach yet.
“Men…..you have been chosen to fight for your country to stop this brute force known as Nazism from bestowing its terror upon us, do you want your children and wives to live free?, even if that means confronting this, this great terror and looking it straight in the eyes, it will all be worth while.”
Sure this speech was good and you could really tell how much of an impact it made on all these men but deep down….they new that the general’s speech wouldn’t make a difference, we were sacrificing ourselves for all the people who we knew back home and we were expected to die for it as well.
Out of nowhere the general started his countdown, from which the tension grew immensely,
“10”
“9”
“8”
“7”
“6”
“5”
It never really hit me until the countdown started, the things I said to my children – “I’ll be back soon, no need to worry, I’ll be home for Christmas” but deep down I knew I was not coming back, the worst part about it was that I would never see them again, and I knew the broad smiles they carried on their faces would be no more. My wife….words cannot describe how I am feeling now as to not being able to see her again, the love I own for her is beyond my reach and is uncontrollable.
“4”
“3”
“2”
But why am I being so pessimistic….. Along with other fellow soldiers we will all be able to see our loved ones again, teamwork is the key and I understand that without the help of others we can unlock the door. The amount of adrenalin rushing through me now was like the sheer joy of your first offspring seeing the first light of day.
I looked at my fellow team mates and could tell they were nervous so I thought to myself; they could do with a bit of encouragement along with a few words of wisdom.
“Teamwork”
As soon as I said this silence was all around me, know one spoke but looked blankly at me
“teamwork is what we need, if we can all work together then we will be able to get out of this place and see our loved ones whom I know you all of you wish to see.”
