“The Rangers did things differently; they were tough and they were serious,” JR’ said. “If you knew something special then you were recognized for it. If a person had a talent for something they let him do it. The Rangers were much smarter than the normal Army,” he said.
“They didn’t pigeon-hole you—making you just another grunt soldier. They made you ‘the individual’ a weapon too, they liked to say.”
While at Fort Dix JR’s brother came to visit him at the encampment. JR’ said his brother had a job requiring him to live in Baltimore, Maryland for a short time. He remembers he and his brother had to meet in a designated recreation area as opposed to JR’s barracks. He said they had a kitchen in the recreation area with a cook on duty and the cook asked if they wanted ‘a little something’ to eat. He said ‘they fed the dickens out of both of us.’ JR’ remembers his brother packing away the food like he hadn’t eaten for a week. The cook says; ‘that’ll tied you over til supper.’ JR’s brother laughed saying, “I don’t think I can eat any more.” It was a great visit for JR’ and his brother—they ate their fill, played cards, and talked each others ear off during this only family visit.
“I wondered if I would ever see him again,” JR’ said, hanging his head.
JR’ said he learned a lot while stationed in Fort Dix. He gained the crucial knowledge that distinguished him from many others. The combination of his knowledge and of course the strength of his personality made him popular with not only other fellow Rangers but with others who ranked above him. It came as no surprise when they promoted JR’ to a military grade of E6 or Staff Sergeant, commanding a section of sixteen men.
JR’ said he felt destined for great things—little did he know how critical his physical strength and heavy weapons knowledge would play a part in his survival at that infamous place, Omaha Beach.
He finally found some time, while in Ft. Dix, to socialize with the local natives in nearby New York. See the next picture for complete description. ‘A picture is worth a thousand words.’
(L-R) Ranger’s - Dephson, Ryan, JR’, Stevenson, and Hodges, socializing with ‘new friends’ in New York City Circa 1943
Chapter Four
JR’ and Rangers head Overseas
In December 1943 the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion moved from Fort Dix to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey where they were to board ships for an overseas journey.
On January 8th, 1944, the Rangers loaded onto the HMS Mauretania II for parts unknown. They were told the destination was secret. When leaving the first day the Mauretania collided with a freighter, requiring the ship to return to dock for repairs.
“It was a quick fix, we were there only the night—someone said they poured concrete to patch the damage,” JR’ said.
British HMS Mauretania II
Troop Carrier - Commissioned from The
Cunard Luxury Liner Fleet in 1938.
Carried over 350,000 troops in WWII
I suppose the collision was considered an amusing incident by the Rangers as JR’ commented about the ships captain . . .
“We all laughed our asses off—we were told how the ships captain was the best—but he found the only other ship within a thousand square miles to run in to,” he chuckled.
They finally left port the next day and ten days later, on January 18th, arrived in Liverpool, England. The ship crossed the ocean alone without escort making zigzag patterns to avoid enemy submarines. The day after arriving in England they boarded a train for the city of Leominster where they continued training similar to what was experienced at Camp Forrest, Tennessee.
In March, the Rangers headed to the Scotland countryside where they were introduced to British Commando training, experiencing nothing like it before now. Without question, the Commando training prepared them for the difficult task ahead. The Scotland hills made or broke any tentativeness held by soldiers wearing the Ranger emblem—some soldiers ‘washed-out’ even at this late stage of elite U.S. Ranger training.
British Commando Training-Street Fighting
Cliff Training in Europe
Commando training included several days of amphibious landings and assault training through fortifications of barbed wire and protruding obstacles—all while varieties of anti-assault weaponry pounded down from above. Every type of battlefield situation and circumstance had been simulated and trained for. The U.S. Army admitted the British Commando training saved many Ranger lives on that fateful day, June 6th, 1944.
“They were shooting live ammo at us, some Rangers got killed,” JR’ said about the Commando training. “It was tough, damn tough . . . as tough as I ever had,” he continued.
In April, the Rangers moved from Scotland’s Commando training to Braunton, England. Here they participated in assault training, including advanced landing movements, land-mine detection and demolition training. They were even taught of all things—street fighting. The Rangers were an elite corps of fighting soldiers, trained and prepared for every eventuality.
More Training in Europe
Chapter Five
D-Day and Bloody Omaha Beach
The evening of June 5, 1944 was like all others except with a tinge of nervous tension filling the air. Soldiers busied themselves with card playing, writing letters and attending religious services. Surely, many soldiers felt tomorrow might be their last day on earth.
Naturally, the Army wakes up early but the morning of June 6, 1944 came sooner than normal. They awoke at 3:00 A.M., with not one soldier lagging in their step as they new their mission and were anxious to ‘get to it,’ as JR’ would say.
Breakfast was plentiful and varied; steak, sausage, bacon, eggs, fruit—only a healthy appetite kept the soldiers from gorging themselves on the bounty. JR grabbed a sandwich and a cup of coffee, while tending to equipment details of his men. Focused and determined—JR’ thought plenty about his responsibility and mission. They were paramount in his mind.
“Our section had a lot of stuff to carry and we had to check that it was all there and in its proper place.”
As 4:45 A.M. soldiers begun loading inside the many LCV (Landing Craft Vehicle), stationed on the deck of the Prince Leopold. The LCV was to be lowered into the water while other soldiers were to climb down rope ladders into waiting LCV’s. Thousands of men made up the first wave. The staging of boats with men and equipment were critical to a meticulously planned invasion. Very little chaos appeared but it wasn’t a walk in the park either. Shit happens!
All soldiers were told that if someone fell in the water, too bad—leave them. If a weapon discharged, killing someone, push them aside and carryon. Everything and everybody moved forward and the clock was running. The plan had a schedule to maintain.
JR’ was a cool-character by nature. His coolness probably aided him in obtaining his rank of Staff Sergeant and the command of sixteen men. He knew what he had to do from the start and he was good at it.
“My men were ready to go, they wanted some action . . . they had waited long enough,” JR’ laughed.
“Rangers were tough . . . all of us had been through hell in training for times just like this—we all wanted to get to the beach and kill Germans.”
HMS Prince Leopold
British Landing Ship-Infantry. Sunk by a German U-Boat, July 24, 1944
Landing Craft Vehicle-Personnel (LCVP)
Also known as the Higgins Boat, typically constructed of plywood, carried 36 men. Over 20,000 LCV’s were made.
Prior to loading onto the LCV’s, just after breakfast, we gathered on the Prince Leopold’s deck and watched the bombing of the Normandy coast.
“Most of the soldiers thought there wouldn’t be much left for us to do when we got there,” JR’ said about the prolific bombing. “The battalion commander had commented that we shouldn’t keep our coffee cups as the Red Cross wouldn’t be there for refills when we landed,” he chuckled.
JR’ was packed up with three days rations, a couple mortar shells, a .45 pistol, his Thompson Machine Gun and three bayonets.
I asked him about the three bayonets and why so many.
“Didn’t know what to expect or where the fighting would take me . . . can’t be too cautious you know. Maybe I was just thinking of being more prepared than the others, they only carried two bayonets.”
Thompson 45 caliber machine gun
JR’ commanded two units making a section of sixteen men. Most were laughing while watching the extensive bombing of the coast. At times it was quiet and reflective but most of the time a steady hum of laughter, shouting and cussing at what was taking place a few miles inland.
“Rangers were a different animal is what they told us, and we believed them. It’s probably a good thing we felt as we did.”
As JR’s section loaded on the LCV, some soldiers knelt while others stood and continued to check equipment and watch the bombing, his sixteen men made up the center row with another row of men on each side. The side row’s were instructed to fan out right and left respective of the row they were in. JR’s section was instructed to rush the beach straight ahead . . . but JR’ also told them to jump right and jump left as they exited the LCV.
It was almost time to drop JR’s boat into the rough and tumble water when his Company Commander, Captain Whittington paid him a visit. Whittington was to be in a separate LCV than JR’.
‘Copeland,’ Captain Whittington said, ‘make damn sure every soldier gets off the boat or leave them there,’ he grimaced with a solemn stare. JR’ knew exactly what he meant as they had spoke about this very situation late last night. War is hell, JR’ thought.
The water was rough and the waves tossed the boats plenty. Once in the water, the LCV moved away from the Prince Leopold quickly to the staging area. JR’ went up and down his section row speaking to each man making sure he knew his assignment; what to do when the ramp dropped, what to do when the doors swung open, what to do when in the water, what to do if you went under the water’s surface. They had heard it all before plenty of times . . . now they were hearing it for the last time.
“The puking started right away,” JR’ said chuckling.
It seems the combination of high seas and the excitement of war causes a soldier to puke at will. The boat’s bottom filled in no time. The Army had issued a small pump for each LCV to extricate water coming from over the sides of the boat. JR’ said they were useless.
“The pump hose was no bigger than my thumb . . . too little to move any quantity of water let alone puke. You couldn’t pump it fast enough to do any good.” Finally, out of necessity the soldiers used their helmets to scoop the liquid out of the boat; it was a never ending task. As they neared the beach, concern lessened among the soldiers about the stench they stood in. It was the least of their worries.
“As we came closer to the beach most everyone thought about what was ahead of us and not the garbage we were standing in,” JR’ said.
Several of the soldiers were watching the action on the cliffs—what they could see from 200 yards away. The German artillery was heavy and bombs generating incredible explosions were landing all around the advancing LCV’s. About this time JR’ says . . .
“Some soldier hollered ‘their throwing everything at us but the kitchen sinks.’ And I shouted, “here comes the kitchen sink now.” It was a helluva projectile—I’d never seen anything like it before.”
JR’ went on to say the large, slow moving, ‘bathtub’ as he called it, was turning sideways, which was unusual from the normal top-over-bottom projectile. JR’ said it fortunately flew over their LCV and hit near the side of an accompanying LCV, capsizing the entire boat.
“We couldn’t stop, someone else would pick them up . . . we moved forward.”
As they finally reached the staging area where they were to wait for a signal from the 2nd Battalion Rangers, it approached 7:00 A.M. JR’ was among the ‘first wave’ and chosen to climb the cliff at Pointe du Hoc along with the 2nd Ranger Battalion. The channel tides were strong and reeking havoc on any previously assigned landing positions. The tide movement combined with heavy battle and fire smoke caused Colonel Rudder’s 2nd Rangers to miss Pointe du Hoc all together, instead almost landing at Pointe de la Percée. The error had caused a thirty minute delay in landing at the correct beach, which was Pointe du Hoc.
“Most things that day went wrong for us,” JR’ said smiling.
The commander of the 5th Ranger Battalion was Colonel Max Schneider’. At the staging area Colonel Schneider’s Rangers, which included JR’, waited for a signal from Colonel Rudder . . . the signal would have been for Schneider’s men to avert the initial plan and go to plan B, proceeding to Omaha Red.
It was 7:00 A.M. and the signal ‘tilt,’ to land at Omaha Red, never came.
At 7:10 . . . still no word from the 2nd Rangers. Colonel Schneider decided after observing horrendous battle casualties at Pointe du Hoc, where he believed they sustained 50% killed or wounded, it was time to land his men east, down-beach, more near the Omaha sector.
“It was great decision as far as we were concerned, JR’ said. There was smoke coming from fires created by the bombing on top of the cliff that fronted out sector. That smoke prevented the Germans from seeing specific targets with their 88’s . . . but they still sprayed machine guns in our direction, we could hear bullets hit the front of the boat.”
“Colonel Schneider saved many lives with his decision . . . he knew the time was up waiting for the signal and he knew it was time for us to move to another beachhead . . . had we followed the 2nd Rangers we’d got murdered.”
“Schneider was battle savvy and he put two-and-two together; not receiving the signal on time and seeing what was happening at Pointe du Hoc . . . so he decided to land somewhere else and that was damn lucky for us,” JR’ said, laughing.
German 88 Anti Tank-Artillery Gun
German 7.92 Machine Gun used WWII
As part of the first wave, the 743rd Tank Battalion landed in front of the 5th Rangers on Omaha Red, only eight of sixteen tanks reached the beach. They, along with Company C of the 116th Infantry, sustained incredible casualties.
Because of shift in the landing sectors from Pointe du Hoc to Omaha Red (Charlie), it became apparent that JR’s LCV was to experience the German meat grinder ahead of them. Fortunately, the smoke from the fires created by the bombing from the USS Satterlee and the British HMS Talybont who came in close to support the LCV landings, created small cover for soldiers disembarking.
“We were about a hundred yards out and still moving inland . . . we wanted to reach some shallow water and at least have a fighting chance to reach the beach and some cover,” JR’ said.
“There was still a helluva lot of beach to cross to reach some decent shelter behind the seawall . . . there was a lot going on and the men were ready to unload and find cover. Lt. Pepper told the British Coxswain to beach the boat as we needed all our men for the job ahead,” said JR’.
Within a few minutes the boat had hit something; a tripod obstacle hidden under the rising tide water. They stopped and the LCV ramp fell forward. Two doors were swung open by soldiers assigned to the task; they were now exposed to German machine gun fire.
Smoke from the cliff area kept the Rangers from seeing any specific targets but it didn’t keep the Germans from laying down a barrage of artillery and machine gun fire. As the soldiers jumped from the LCV, each knew of their pending death; from bomb explosions to the spray of machine gun’s to stepping into a bomb crater below the water’s surface.
The soldier columns siding JR’s men jumped right and left to fan out giving the center column plenty of room. The center column did as JR’ had instructed with each man jumping the opposite way from the one in front of him. Their fanning out provided each man his own path of destiny, without making themselves a bigger target by being bunched in a group. JR’ knew that one explosion could wipe out several men . . . his instruction to jump each way allowed the men to make their own way to the beach.
“We jumped into waist-deep water, JR’ said, it d
ragged on us a little but it was better than others we saw going in over their heads from being out so far. Lt. Pepper gave us a fighting chance by convincing the LCV Coxswain to get as close to the beach as possible—he was Pepper-suaded you could say,” JR’ said, laughing.
LCV’s in staging area prior to approaching Omaha Beach
The smoke cover was intermittent, sometimes providing good cover from the German gun barrage and sometimes clearing. JR’ wasn’t out of the boat two minutes when he felt a burning in his left heel. Thirty seconds later he felt a similar burning sensation in his right calf. He had been shot, twice.
“I knew I’d been shot as I’d never felt anything like this feeling before in my life.”
As JR’s men scurried from hedge-posts to hedge-posts (as they called them), they moved inland toward the beach and the 100 yard run to the seawall’s cover.
“It was hell out there but we all knew what we had to do . . . we had our orders and we damn well were going to carry them out. Every man had his assignment; they didn’t need me to order them about . . . Rangers are smart that way.”
German ‘hedge-post’ obstruction fronting Omaha Beach
It reached a little after 7:30 A.M., with daylight in full bloom. Fortunately the smoke from the cliff fires kept the Germans from specifically targeting the LCV’s as they unloaded. Regrettably, it didn’t last long as the wind shifted smoke in patches; heavy sometimes and sparse in others. JR’ said the men in his company were not firing at anything as they moved quickly through the water toward the beach . . . they couldn’t see anything to fire at. They were mostly scurrying from one obstacle to another trying to reach the beach seawall and a larger safety zone.
Bloody Omaha - My Remembrances of That Day by James Robert Copeland Page 3