Omaha Beach: The First Wave

by Harley A. Reynolds

I enlisted in the U.S. Army on December 28, 1940 and was assigned to Co. B, 16th Infantry, Regiment, First Infantry Division stationed at Fort Jay, New York. I served with this unit until honorably discharged on July 4th, 1945 at Fort Meade, Maryland during demobilization after victory in Germany. Mustered out on a point system, I had the highest number of points for a single man in England when the war ended. A group of 17 men with the highest points were sent home to test the mustering out system and I was in charge of our service records that we carried with us. I had achieved the rank of staff sergeant by the time of the invasion of France, and this was the highest rank I would hold.

In 1941, our entire division was transferred to Fort Devons, Massachusetts, where we staged a mock invasion at Buzzards Bay, near Cape Cod, long before we got into the war. From there we went on to Camp Blanding, Fort Benning, and Fort Indiantown Gap, before making our way back to New York to prepare for deployment overseas.

From the port of New York City, the entire division, approximately 16,000 men, boarded the Queen Mary and set sail on August 2, 1942 for Glasgow, Scotland. From there, we traveled by train to Tidworth Barracks near Amesbury, England. Here we prepared for Operation Torch – the invasion of Africa. We would also make the invasion of Sicily before returning to England to train for the invasion of France on what would become known as D-Day.
From Sicily, we returned to England and were stationed in the small town of Lyme Regis, near Torquay. We stayed here from November 1943 to the middle of May 1944. By this time I had become a staff sergeant and commanded the light machine gun section. Each position I held from first ammo carrier to assistant gunner, to gunner to squad leader, and then to section leader was because the men ahead of me were either wounded or killed and I took over…What made me so lucky?

D-Day : 6 June 1944

Time came for the invasion and we went aboard the troop ship Samuel Chase at Weymouth, England. We sailed immediately for dispersal and position within the invading fleet. The plan was for our battalion to land in Regimental Reserve on Omaha Beach in the Easy Red Sector.

This would be our second invasion from the Samuel Chase. The first was at Gela in Sicily. She also made the African invasion alongside us. Many friendships were made then, and later through our division and ship associations, which are still active. I am an honorary member of their association, a fine brave and proud group.

We left the Chase for the last time and went in single file to our rendezvous area, following the little light on the stern of the craft ahead of us. The light would disappear and then reappear as we rose and fell with the waves. The water was getting rough. I thought several times we would crash into the craft ahead as we came upon them and would have to back off. I could see the trail of phosphorus the craft was leaving behind, and I thought the Germans must be able to see it too, and would pinpoint their sights on us.