OPERATION COBRA

July 24, 1944: Operation COBRA begins; waves of GI’s land at Normandy and move throughout the countries of France, England, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Holland.

Several landing barges with determined GI’s had already landed on June 6, 1944 and successfully entered the northern coast of France. Other GI’s would land later on and move into other areas. As we reached the coast we knew that the hard part, the action and fighting, would begin. Everyone had to be cautious and each man was to keep an eye open for signs of danger. Timing was everything and all the details had been worked out by the “brass” with President Eisenhower signing into order the “go-ahead” and the assigned areas where the troops were to land.

THE STORY
Darkness covered the land along the beach and shore. We had talked of nothing for the past few days but there was no more time left. We were told to prepare for the landing and all the bravery of the past few days seemed to slip away. Would this be the time that sniper bullets would pellet the ground and stop our advance?

No one chanced to talk of the risk until one soldier quietly said to the soldier immediately next to him, “I’m scared”. Little by little the soldiers began to admit that they were afraid and that they had no idea what to expect. They were young, eighteen to twenty years old.
The war was a reality.

All the preparation and instruction were ready to be tested. One by one the soldiers moved onto the landing barges that would take them to shore. Silent prayers went up from those who believed that God was with them. It was quiet, almost too quiet. Without any warning the barges became stuck in the muddy waters. There was no way to go ahead without wading through the water and cautiously approaching the shore. Hearts pounding in their chest, the soldiers waited for the start of gunfire that would bring each of them to their knees and challenge their military training. For some miraculous reason the gunfire never came. The soldiers relaxed a little and gave a quiet sigh of relief.. The men no longer seemed quite as terrified and afraid. So far, so good.

In other areas paratroopers were dotting the black skies laden with food and supplies. Heavy artillery was getting into position for the troops Military planes were scanning the air to get coordinates for the assault teams. Coordinating everything was crucial to the success of the mission. Now was the time to put into practice all that the men had studied and drilled over the past few months. Okay, men, come on, let’s get this party on the roll.