Company C, 116th Infantry Regiment

Company C, 116th Infantry Regiment. National D-Day Memorial. Inducted into federal service at its Virginia National Guard armory in Harrisonburg on 3 February 1941, Company C, 116th Infantry, trained in England for twenty months to prepare for its pivotal role on Omaha Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944. Commanded by Capt. Berthier Hawks, Company C was scheduled to land on Omaha's westernmost sector, Dog Green, at H+50, 0720, from seven US Navy landing craft, vehicle and personnel (LCVP) drawn from the troop transport USATThurston . Company C was one of four lettered companies belonging to the 116th Infantry's 1st Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. John Metcalfe, whose mission was to open up the D-1 Draw and penetrate inland through Vierville-sur-Mer by dusk. , , Companies A, B, and D preceded Company C to the beach, and all were met by withering German fire from emplacements atop the bluffs flanking the D-1 Draw. Moving directly up the draw, as Metcalfe's orders had dictated, seemed impossible. Fortunately, a Royal Navy officer leading part of Company B to shore shortly after 0700 swung his landing craft, assault (LCA) to the east and found a seam in the German defenses between the D-1 and D-3 Draws. The seven LCVPs carrying Company C followed that lead and grounded in good order on Dog White along a 100-yard front, 1,000 yards east of their target sector. Enemy fire on Dog White was less severe than at the D-1 Draw, but to move inland Company C needed to penetrate barbed wire barriers and a minefield, then ascend the steep coastal bluffs in full view of enemy defenders. , , At about 0800, with Brig. Gen. Norman Cota himself leading them, members of Company C breached the wire with Bangalore torpedoes, moved across the beach promenade road, and began their deadly trek through the minefield and up the bluff. Progress was slow and casualties heavy, but Hawks and his men made it to the top and headed west through the hedgerow country toward Vierville. Led by 1st Lt. Robert Bedell, advance elements of Company C, shortly before 1100, moved into and beyond Vierville - the first village liberated by soldiers of the 29th Division in World War II. , , As one of the first units to land intact on Omaha Beach, Company C was able to help overcome the assault's disastrous beginning and shape the course of events in the Americans' favor by noon. , , Like all other 116th Infantry units, Company C received the Presidential Unit Citation and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm for its heroic D-Day performance. The many Virginia guardsmen still remaining with the unit, as well as all its plentiful draftees, fulfilled their mission in the face of daunting opposition, living up to the exalted reputation of the old Stonewall Brigade. , , Emplaced in memory of Colonel Norman E. Elmore, citizen, soldier, and patriot. National D-Day Memorial Foundation Board of Directors, 1991-2000. Given by his family and friends.