7th FA on D-Day at Omaha Beach: First to Fire - Field Artillery

FA Journal, Nov-Dec, 2001 by Alfred A. Alvarez

Someone called a medic over, and he sat down with his back to the enemy to bandage Eddie. A bullet struck the medic in the back. Eddie and I tried to bandage him and called for other medics to help, but we were unable to save him.

We spotted Rosner submerged with the battery box and finally got him out of the surf. Sergeant Kowlaski then married us up with a battery officer Lieutenant Merrill Ferrara. This officer earned his second Silver Star as he led us up the beach and up the bluff that day.

I remember seeing signs with skulls and crossbones--"Achtung Minen"--indicating a German minefield. There were wooden steps leading up the bluff interspersed with American bodies. I didn't know if they were victims of sniping or mines. We gingerly groped our way up, carrying equipment weighing about 75 pounds.

Arriving at the top, we realized Lieutenant Ferrara had been hit in the groin, and he was bleeding profusely from his crotch. I still recall how embarrassed we were as he lowered his trousers for us to apply a battle dressing. Later, when we had to renew the dressing, I recall how neatly I dug a small hole and buried the first dressing. I had some weird thought of being fastidious on the battlefield.

The top of the bluff was covered with smoke and, in comparison, was amazingly safe. All the firing was going over our heads onto the beach or out to sea.

We could see machine-gun fire and artillery rounds continue to land on the packed personnel on the beach--living and dead--and masses of equipment in the surf, all lined up at the high-water mark. Landing craft now steadily attempted landings. The 16th Infantry RCT Commander Colonel Taylor's memorable words were prophetic: "Get off the beach because only the dead and those going to die will remain!"

Meanwhile, the officers of the 7th FA were organizing groups of all available soldiers and fighting as infantrymen, aggressively attacking the German pillboxes and machine-gun positions. Someone pointed out Lieutenant Colonel George Gibbs, our battalion commander, standing up, probably trying to inspire the troops.

Captain Robert W. Woodward, our battalion commo officer, led a group of battery personnel and wiped out a machine-gun emplacement. Technician Fourth Class Dock, who was the horizontal control officer of the battalion fire direction center (FDC), commandeered an abandoned US tank and silenced an annoying German pillbox.

On our smoking bluff, the only disturbing problem was a sniper's round occasionally zinged by our heads. We countered the snipers by organizing into hunter teams in the German trenches.

Meanwhile, our firing batteries were encountering countless difficulties coming through the surf They were riding on DVKWs overloaded with 105-mm M101 towed howitzers, ammo and 10 personnel.

The two DS artillery battalions--7th FA for the 16th Infantry RCT and the 111th FA for the 116th Infantry RCT--did not fare well. The 111th lost all 12 of its guns to counterfire and rough surf, although one gun was salvaged. The 7th FA did a little better, losing only six of its 12 guns.