"Our landing craft hit a mine on its way to Omaha beach. The explosion rocked the craft, killing the men in the front and tossing me and others into the freezing water.
I quickly inflated my lifebelt before the 60lbs of gear sunk me to the bottom. I was in shock and scared to death. I could not tell which of the other men bobbing in the water was alive or dead.
Luckily, another craft saw me and it slowed long enough for me to grab a rope drooping from the side. I clung to the side of the craft with one hand heading once again towards the beach...little I knew that I was hitching a ride into hell.
I let go of the rope about 40 yards from the beach in shallow water. Once there I found a nightmare. Sherman tanks burned on the water line and half-sunk landing crafts bobbed in the water, red with blood. The dead and body parts littered the beach. It was horrible! Everyone’s screaming for help, everyone’s wounded.
I crawled on my hands and knees up the beach under heavy artillery, mortar, machine gun and sniper fire until I met an Army captain who ordered me to the firing line. I pointed at my helmet letting him now that I was a Navy beachmaster. The captain was unimpressed. He simply replied 'Get your ass up there or I’ll blow your head off!'..and so I did.
By the end of the day, only 36 men out of my entire company were still alive." - Seaman First Class Robert L. Watson (18 years old), B. Company, 6th Naval Beach BN, Normandy, France, June 6th, 1944 #reality #normandy #zerofoxtrot #dday #75