Company H, 116th Infantry Regiment

Company H, 116th Infantry Regiment. . Mobilized by proclamation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 3 February 1941, members of Company H, 16th Infantry, reported to their Virginia National Guard armory in Martinsville for what was supposed to be one year of active service, but which turned out to be nearly five. A heavy weapons company armed with water-cooled .30-caliber machine guns and 81-millimeter mortars. Company H embarked HMS Queen Mary in October 1942 and stood out for Great Britain. The unit trained there for more than a year and a half to prepare for its role in the opening phase of the D-Day invasion on 6 June 1944. Commanded by Capt. George Boyd, Company E held orders to support the first-wave landings of Companies E, F, and G, the three rifle companies of the 116th Infantry's 2nd Battalion under the command of Maj. Sidney Bingham. The 2nd Battalion's mission was to clear the D-3 Draw and advance inland through the coastal villages of Les Moulins and St. Laurent-sur-Mer by sunset. , , Transported to the beach by six U.S. Navy landing craft, vehicle and personnel (LCVP) from USAT Thomas Jefferson , Company H landed at H+30 minutes, 0700, along a half-mile front close behind the three rifle companies. Met by enemy machine gun, mortar, and artillery fire, Company H experienced heavy casualties as its soldiers struggled through the flooding surf and across the open tidal flat to the shingle embankment at the high-water line. Although the terrifying carnage inflicted on soldiers that had preceded them ashore was impossible to miss, Col. Charles Canham, commanding officer the 116th Infantry Regiment, and Brig. Gen. Norman Cota, the 29th Infantry Division's assistant commander, spurred the stunned soldiers of Company H forward toward the inland objectives beyond the shingle and up the steep coastal bluff. , , Led by the unit's junior officers and NCOs, small teams managed to breach the enemy's barbed wire and minefields, thus enabling the advancing company to move its crew-served weapons to the heights beyond the beach. Company H joined elements of the 1st and 2nd Battalions as well as the 5th Ranger Battalion in a cross-country advance toward Vierville-sur-Mer, and in the process helped clear out several German strong points overlooking the beach. The unit's unwavering inland thrust in the face of dogged enemy resistance altered the course of the battle in favor of the 116th Infantry Regimental Combat Team. By day's end, Company H was dispersed between Vierville and St. Laurent and set to provide heavy-weapons support for the advance on D+1 and beyond. , , Well-trained, well-equipped, and well-led, Company H distinguished itself by approaching demanding tasks with consummate professionalism and rendering service hallmarked with valor, fidelity, and sacrifice. Its unit decorations include the Presidential Unit Citation and French Croix de Guerre with Palm. , , Emplaced in remembrance of the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of Martinsville’s citizen-soldiers on D-Day and beyond. Given in gratitude by Dr. and Mrs. Thomas L. Mann.