The invasion had finally started.
We were off on a cruise of doom,
A mask of a smile on lips parted,
But a heart beneath full of gloom.
We knew it a big undertaking -
We all understood our job.
A beachhead was in the making,
A showdown on Hitler's mob.
Sam was thinking of England.
Johnnie, his wife at home.
A joker put on a swing band;
My thoughts began to roam.
Our boat cut thru the gray mist
And sped us on our way.
Many who looked at the watch on their wrist
Knelt down and began to pray.
Out of the mist loomed a murky wall -
It was Hitler's western defense.
Here was our goal and it had to fall
Was the flash to our inner sense.
The cry, "Saddle up," was the go sign.
The deck suddenly filled with men.
We were headed straight for the coastline;
God! Don't let this happen again.
Thru smoke we saw many sunken ships,
Proud in their ghost-like hue.
For they had scored their winning hits -
What more could you ask them to do?
The air reeked of death all over,
The water a blood-dyed red.
For a minute our heads seemed to lower,
A silent prayer for the dead.
Our craft didn't make it the first go.
She maneuvered to try it again.
The minutes seemed like ages, though,
Ere the prow of the boat hit the sand.
So into the icy water we jumped
As the shells whizzed overhead.
Many a pack and rifle dumped;
It was either that or be dead.
The beach was a literal graveyard.
The Jerries had taken their toll.
For the lads before us the road had been hard,
But they had continued to roll.
A deadly barrage from his 88s,
And the Boche had us eating sand.
It was there that some of our boys kept dates
With the Boss of the Promised Land.
John took the count - God save his soul!
War is terrible, I know,
But maybe it's best, he's reached his goal -
he's gone where the brave men go.
Sam, he got it below the knee.
A million-dollar wound, I guess.
And thus my partner was taken from me,
At least for a while he'll rest.
Joe and Robbie were caught there too,
And Sergeant Doe in the legs.
So onward, boys, it's for me and you
To grind these Nazis to dregs.
Yes, the beach was won at a terrible cost,
But they didn't die in vain.
If it wasn't for them, the day'd been lost
And we'd had to start once again.
So raise the Stars and Striped on high,
Ring praises thru our land -
For the valiant fightin' men who die
On a Flanders field of sand.
We're marching forward, the Fightin' First.
We're out for some Nazi blood.
And we won't stop till we stop this curse,
This nation ruled by a dud.
Yes, we're driving onward, this mighty team,
To meet a beaten foe.
And the valorous boys we left on the beach
Are with us wherever we go.
This story, though not completed,
Leaves a message in its wake;
We have never been defeated,
And w can give more than we take.
~ E. Duncan Cameron of Company C, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division.
In Christ Alone,
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