D-Day plus 4

So, we have just had the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. I always try to acknowledge the occasion, remembering the day in some little way not only because of the history of the event, but also as a little tip of the hat to may old man. My father served in the Army during World War II. However, he didn't go over to the beaches of Normandy on that fateful day. He was assigned to the 4th Armored Division which was attached to General Patton's 3rd Army. It was pretty much accepted at the time, and mostly by the Germans, that Patton would be the one to lead the invasion of Europe. Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower was banking on that theory.

Eisenhower played into the German's thinking and he used Patton as a decoy. He had Patton set up his command in an area across the English Channel from where conventional wisdom dictated the invasion was suppose to happen. You might say Ike was trying to create fake news. The Germans had a lot of spies in England and were trying to get information as to when and where the much anticipated invasion was going to occur. So, the Allies were trying to feed information to these spies that would keep the real plans for D-Day secret. A big part of the fake info was creating a fake build up for the invasion. In a small way, Dad was part of this fake army.

I know there were many veterans of the war who felt it hard to talk about their experiences during that time. Yet, my father opened up quite a bit about what he lived through. Many Sunday afternoons as we waited for Mom to finish cooking that all important Sunday dinner, Dad would sit and tell us stories about his time overseas. Hell, by the time I was out of highschool I felt like I had lived through the war myself. I remember those days sitting and listening to my father's stories. I remember as each June 6th started to come around again and how he would relate what was happening leading up to that June in 1944. As far as he and the rest of the troops in his unit were concerned they would definately be involved in the "Big One".

All around the camp where he was based in England there was a major amount of activity. Hundreds of trucks, tanks and jeeps drove around the base throughout the day and night. New equipment was delivered daily, including inflatable tanks and aircraft. The rumor was that the blown-up vehicles were to make it appear that Patton's army was much bigger than reality. This was true in a sense, however the big reason was to convince any snooping Huns that this was the true build-up for D-Day. My father and the rest of his unit had no idea they would be left behind when that Allied armada set sail for the shores of France.

Dad and the rest of the 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion learned of the events of June 6th 1944 much like everyone back in the US of A, from the radio broadcasts. After the Longest Day unfolded, the 704th like other units still left in England went on high alert. Once they got over the surprise of not being part of the 1st wave, they prepared for what was to come. The 704th and the rest of the 4th Armored Division headed south to Southhampton England. They shipped out on July 11th and landed on Utah Beach the next day. They moved up to the frontlines almost immediately and joining other forces they started the Breakout. Even though the D-Day invasion was beyond huge it still wasn't a done deal that war was won. There was plenty of fighting left to do.

As a kid, I often wondered about the stories my father told us. Later in life I read a book by Ken Follet, "The Eye of the Needle" and watched several documentaries detailing the story of the "fake army" and they told of the inflatable tanks with other aspects of the build-up. Also, a member of the same company my old man was in kept a diary of the unit's movements through France and into Germany. The author's name was Norman Macomber and I remember my Dad mentioning him several times. One day in the early eighties, Dad received a package in the mail, it was a bound copy of Macomber's diary. He had had it printed and copied, then sent to the surviving members of "C" Company. I have read and reread that diary many times. I no longer have to wonder about my father's stories - they're all in there.