Bedford in Bedford County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Company D, 116th Infantry Regiment

— National D-Day Memorial —

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

1. Company D, 116th Infantry Regiment Marker

Inscription.

Company D, 116th Infantry Regiment. . Presidential Unit Citation, French Croix de Guerre with Palm . Formed at Roanoke, Virginia, Company D of the 116th Infantry Regiment, under the command of Captain Walter O. Schilling, was one of four infantry companies in the 116th Regiment Combat Team's (RCT) second-wave assault on Normandy. Company D was to have landed facing the Vierville exit in the Dog Green sector of Omaha Beach. Its mission was to reinforce Company A, which the German defenders had already neutralized. As Company D approached the objective through rough seas, the seasick troopers bailed with their helmets to keep the six assault landing craft (LCA) afloat. More than a kilometer from land, one of the LCAs shipped so much water that it was abandoned, the survivors coming ashore as best they could some five hours later and in no condition to fight. A half-kilometer from shore a second LCA struck a mine or was hit by German artillery. Fewer than half that boat team got as far as the beach; fewer still reached the seawall. A third LCA debarked its troops more than a hundred meters from the tidal flat. It took two hours for them to make it ashore - broadly scattered and utterly depleted. They had neither weapons nor ammunition. Few of those men joined the battle. Worse, virtually all the heavy weapons carried in those three LCAs were lost. Because the flooding tide obscured obstacles and mines positioned on the tidal flat closer to the beach, Company D's surviving LCAs quit what remained of their assault formation and made for shore wherever a space for debarkation seemed to materialize. All three craft had come under effective fire before dropping their ramps in water three to six feet deep. The debarking troopers who managed to dodge the killing blows of tide-tossed exit ramps disappeared underwater, weighed down by the equipment they wore and carried. Soldiers who made it to the beach did so as individuals led by their own wits and guided by reflexes conditioned during months of training. Casualties were heavy, and the exhausted soldiers who reached the cover of the seawall did not resemble the fighting force that had set out from HMS Empire Javelin in the pre-dawn of D-Day. Troopers who still had weapons cleaned them in the relative safety of the seawall; then, at the direction of this or that surviving PFC or Corporal, they formed into ad hoc fire teams and squads. Elements of one of the company's machine gun crews teamed with a partial machine gun crew from Company H to piece together a serviceable weapon. And so it went. Joined by other stragglers along the way, various elements of Company D moved inland toward the Vierville exit. Donated in honor of John Robert “Bob” Slaughter, who served with Company D, 116th Infantry Regiment, from February 1941 through July 1945, by the Clubs of Ruritan National.

Presidential Unit Citation, French Croix de Guerre with Palm Formed at Roanoke, Virginia, Company D of the 116th Infantry Regiment, under the command of Captain Walter O. Schilling, was one of four infantry companies in the 116th Regiment Combat Team's (RCT) second-wave assault on Normandy. Company D was to have landed facing the Vierville exit in the Dog Green sector of Omaha Beach. Its mission was to reinforce Company A, which the German defenders had already neutralized.

As Company D approached the objective through rough seas, the seasick troopers bailed with their helmets to keep the six assault landing craft (LCA) afloat. More than a kilometer from land, one of the LCAs shipped so much water that it was abandoned, the survivors coming ashore as best they could some five hours later and in no condition to fight. A half-kilometer from shore a second LCA struck a mine or was hit by German artillery. Fewer than half that boat team got as far as the beach; fewer still reached the seawall. A third LCA debarked its troops more than a hundred meters from the tidal flat. It took two hours for them to make it ashore

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- broadly scattered and utterly depleted. They had neither weapons nor ammunition. Few of those men joined the battle. Worse, virtually all the heavy weapons carried in those three LCAs were lost.

Because the flooding tide obscured obstacles and mines positioned on the tidal flat closer to the beach, Company D's surviving LCAs quit what remained of their assault formation and made for shore wherever a space for debarkation seemed to materialize. All three craft had come under effective fire before dropping their ramps in water three to six feet deep. The debarking troopers who managed to dodge the killing blows of tide-tossed exit ramps disappeared underwater, weighed down by the equipment they wore and carried. Soldiers who made it to the beach did so as individuals led by their own wits and guided by reflexes conditioned during months of training. Casualties were heavy, and the exhausted soldiers who reached the cover of the seawall did not resemble the fighting force that had set out from HMS Empire Javelin in the pre-dawn of D-Day.

Troopers who still had weapons cleaned them in the relative safety of the seawall; then,

Company D, 116th Infantry Regiment Marker (middle left) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

2. Company D, 116th Infantry Regiment Marker (middle left)

at the direction of this or that surviving PFC or Corporal, they formed into ad hoc fire teams and squads. Elements of one of the company's machine gun crews teamed with a partial machine gun crew from Company H to piece together a serviceable weapon. And so it went. Joined by other stragglers along the way, various elements of Company D moved inland toward the Vierville exit.

Donated in honor of John Robert “Bob” Slaughter, who served with Company D, 116th Infantry Regiment, from February 1941 through July 1945, by the Clubs of Ruritan National.

Erected by National D-Day Memorial.

Topics and series. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, World II. In addition, it is included in the U.S. National D-Day Memorial series list. A significant historical date for this entry is June 6, 1944.

Location. 37° 19.85′ N, 79° 32.17′ W. Memorial is in Bedford, Virginia, in Bedford County. It can be reached from Overlord Circle 0.4 miles west of Burks Hill Road. The Marker is located on the grounds of the National D-Day Memorial. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 3 Overlord Circle, Bedford VA 24523, United States

Company D, 116th Infantry Regiment image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

3. Company D, 116th Infantry Regiment

Omaha Beach D-Day Landing Sites of the 116th Infantry Regiment

of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in Southwest Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

D-Day Landings image. Click for full size.

U.S. Army/Public Domain

4. D-Day Landings

marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bedford.

Also see . . .
1. D Co - 1st Battalion- 116th Infantry Regiment After Action Report. (Submitted on February 20, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)
2. National D-Day Memorial. (Submitted on February 20, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 21, 2024. It was originally submitted on February 20, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 674 times since then and 103 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 20, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.