Eyewitness Accounts from Omaha Beach and the D-Day Airborne Assault

On December 6, 2022, Kim Monson presents special rebroadcasts from her America’s Veterans Stories archives, featuring two extraordinary D-Day veterans: Coast Guard seaman Frank DeVita, who operated the landing craft ramp on the first wave at Omaha Beach, and paratrooper Guy Whidden of the 101st Airborne, whose machine gun platoon was the first combat unit to land in France.

First Wave at Omaha Beach

Start listening at 02:58 – Hour 1

Frank DeVita recounts the harrowing experience of operating the landing craft ramp during the first wave at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. At just 19 years old, DeVita faced a terrible choice: the German MG-42 machine guns, nicknamed “Hitler’s zipper,” were riddling his boat’s steel ramp with bullets. When ordered to drop the ramp, he knew the gunfire would sweep into the boat.

DeVita describes the devastating casualties: of the 32 soldiers aboard, most were killed or wounded within seconds. Only three men made it off his boat onto the beach, where they were cut down immediately. The first wave suffered 95% casualties, with 2,000 dead before the day truly began. DeVita made 15 trips back and forth to the beach that day, eventually helping recover 308 dead bodies.

A key turning point came when the destroyer USS Frankford violated orders and moved in close to shore, turning broadside to fire its five-inch guns at German positions on the cliffs. This action broke the German defenses and changed the tide of the battle.

“I am not a hero. If you go to the cemetery above Normandy and you see those 9,400 graves, those are my heroes. I am not a hero. I’m a survivor.”

Frank DeVita, Coast Guard Veteran, D-Day First Wave

First Combat Platoon to Land in France

Start listening at 62:53 – Hour 2

Guy Whidden shares his experience as a member of the 101st Airborne Division’s 502nd Regiment, whose machine gun platoon holds the distinction of being the first combat unit to land in France on D-Day. Jumping at approximately 1 a.m. on June 6, 1944, Whidden was the last man out of his plane after pushing his fellow paratroopers through the door.

The 18-year-old from outside Philadelphia had originally wanted to be a fighter pilot but found himself redirected to infantry and eventually volunteered for the paratroops. After 44 days at sea crossing the Atlantic and extensive training in England, Whidden participated in the airborne assault that preceded the beach landings by six hours. He was knocked unconscious upon landing when a 400-pound supply bundle struck him, and narrowly avoided being shot by a fellow American when he couldn’t find his identification cricket.

Whidden participated in liberating St. Mere Eglise, the first French village freed from German occupation. He attributes his survival through the war to divine intervention, noting he experienced no fear during combat despite being a “tender boy” before enlisting.

“I felt God was with me. The truth of the matter was I felt God was with me, and that’s been proven to some extent because I had a vision in life.”

Guy Whidden, 101st Airborne Veteran, D-Day Paratrooper