Seventh Naval Beach Battalion

Seventh Naval Beach Battalion. . , Commissioned on 5 October 1943 at Camp Bradford, Virginia, under Commander L. C. Leever, the 7th Naval Beach Battalion (NBB) was later filled with unassigned sailors and men drawn from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th NBBs. At full strength, NBBs numbered 400-550 officers and men assigned to three letter companies of three platoons. Each platoon had sections trained to communicate shore to ship, clear and mark sea lanes, care for and evacuate casualties, and repair minor breakdowns, The 7th NBB moved to Lido Beach, New York, for shipment to Europe, but before embarking HMS Aquitania, Lieutenant Sam Byrd, an officer whose Broadway credits included opening as Dude Lester in Tobacco Road took as many of the men as wanted to join him to the Lamb's Club for a night of entertainment. , , On D-Day, the 7th NBB was attached to the Army's 6th Engineer Special Brigade to support the 116th Infantry Regimental Combat Team's landing in the western half of Omaha Beach. Some demolitions personnel of the 7th NBB touched down at H-Hour (0630), but strong lateral currents carried them between 700 and 1,500 meters east of their planned objectives. They managed nevertheless to open six gaps through obstacles in the Dog sector of the beach. , , As the first-wave units approached land, they encountered stiff resistance, and the shoreline became clogged. Two hours into the assault, Commander Leever suspended the landing of more vehicles, as most making it onto the tidal flat had been destroyed. , , Thus many of the inbound craft of Easy Green and Easy Red, where much of the 7th NBB waited to come ashore, became attractive artillery targets. Yeonen V. Garwood Bacon was aboard one of them. He recalls: , ,

A blast shook our sturdy little craft from stem to stern, and a sheet of flame shot up some 30 or 40 feet in the air through the number one hold directly forward of the conning tower. A fire broke out below, and smoke poured out of the gaping hole torn by the flames. As if the explosion were a prearranged signal, the Gerry’s opened up with everything - 88s, mortars, machine guns, and so forth. Terror seized me as I gazed horrified at the burned and bleeding frantically rushing and stumbling past me trying to get away from bling fire and smoke. I fought off the weakness in my knees and struggled to keep my mind clear.

, , Sailors of the 7th NBB who, like Yeoman Bacon, did make it across the tidal flat performed their individual and section missions as best they could while also fighting as infantry. That they gained a foothold on D-Day was a singular accomplishment that enabled beach masters, Lieutenant Byrd among them, to ensure that the 7th NBB's mission was executed on D+1 and beyond. For their service on D-Day, Companies B and C received the Presidential Unit Citation. , Erected by the W.B. McGuire Charitable Foundation, Inc., in memory of John B. Waldron, who served in the United States Navy during the Second World War. Dedicated on Memorial Day, 29 May 2006.