On June 6, 1944, the western Allies invaded German-occupied Europe in the largest military assault in history. More than 176,000 troops landed on five beaches along France's Normandy coast.
D-Day is known to Americans as a horrendous battle fought by ground soldiers. The fighting at Omaha Beach, toughest of the five landing zones, was later popularized in the Steven Spielberg film "Saving Private Ryan." An earlier
generation learned of the invasion in the Cornelius Ryan book and Darryl F. Zanuck film "The Longest Day," which drew its title from German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's prediction of what an invasion would be.
Combat crews of the Army Air Forces, the antecedents to today's Air Force, also were in battle that day.
Transport and glider crews, in darkness and under fire, delivered thousands of paratroopers behind the lines before dawn. Fighters
ranged over the beaches and sought targets inland.
Heavy bombers of the 8th Air Force were assigned to strike beach defenses at Omaha. These bomber crews exhibited great courage, but missed their targets by as much as three miles.
Gerald Astor's history, "The Mighty Eighth," has 8th Air Force heavy bombers striking Utah Beach as well. That is inaccurate. Utah Beach was the assigned target of the lesser-known lightand medium-bomber units of the 9th Air Force. "The 9th rarely gets the mention it deserves," said retired Maj. Gen. John 0. Moench, 80, of Longwood, Fla.
Moench flew over the invasion beaches in one of the war's least publicized aircraft, the B-26 Marauder medium bomber ["B26 Marauder underrated," History in Blue, Aug. 7, 2000]. Accounts of the D-Day battle rarely pay tribute to the heroism of A-20 Havoc light bomber and B26 Marauder medium bomber crews of the 9th Air Force.
"I was a member of the 454th Bombardment Squadron, 323rd Bombardment Group, stationed at Earl's Colne, England," Moench said. "On June 6, I was a second lieutenant who had been around for about two months. I was one of the early replacements in the unit and was getting experience pretty fast."
At the controls of his B-26, Moench was responsible for a seven-man crew consisting of pilot, co-pilot, bombardier, navigator, radio operator, engineer (who was also a gunner at the top turret) and tail gunner. Some B-26s had had co-pilot seats removed and were flown by a single pilot.
What was it like, looking down at the largest invasion in history?
"The water was just loaded with ships out there. The fields of France were cluttered with gliders and parachutes," he said. "You're looking down at all this and thinking, 'Holy mackerel, look at all that stuff!'
Moench had cautioned that bombing Utah might be no piece of cake.
"The only thing that got me really uptight was when they said we would have go in at any altitude," he said. "That meant we'd have to fly very low if the situation demanded it, and we had lost a lot of airplanes the last time we did that.
"In fact, the weather was such that we were able to go in at 4,000 or 5,000 feet where you got light anti-aircraft fire. It was the first time I encountered tracer fire from the ground. The damn things come up at you and you swear, 'Every one of those is going to hit me!'
Moench said he does not recall his exact target at Utah Beach.
"Some crews were assigned to drop bombs in the water. Guys coming ashore looked at that and said, 'Why are those damned aircraft dumping their bombs in the water?' But it was done on purpose. The intention was to set off underwater German mines," he said. "Otherwise, those mines were a threat to our troops. There was some success with this." Historians have argued about the degree of success achieved by airpower during the invasion. Most accounts claim that the bombing achieved some success at four of the five beaches, the exception being Omaha.
Moench believes his B-26 unit was very effective.
"In Utah," Moench said, "the casualties among our troops were extremely low, thanks in part to the bombing." Once Allied soldiers had a foothold on the European continent, Moench and other fliers faced a new challenge, supporting ground forces in the advance toward Berlin.
Robert F. Dorr, an Air Force veteran, lives in Oakton, Va. His e-mail address is robertdorr©aol.com.
