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out vehicles.  An occasional German shell burst on the beach.  Yet there was more than the strangeness. 
There was a lack of war.  The sky was filled with aircraft – allied aircraft.  The water was filled with
fighting craft – Allied naval craft.  We knew what it cost to take the beach, but we had not seen it taken. 
We knew that inshore a few yards, or perhaps a mile, thousands of men were fighting for a few feet, a
yard of breathing space.  The sun swung from east to west.  A few planes slipped out of formation and
crashed into the sea.  A minesweeper, hunting for its deadly loot, blew up and sank within a minute. 
Suddenly a landing craft came alongside, vehicles and men were loaded – you move toward shore, this
was it.
Those that went ashore the first night included most of the radio, wire and detail men from the various
batteries.  We learned that first night that the Luftwaffe did most of their work after dark.  Those who
witnessed the display of ack-ack fire over the beaches of Normandy shall not soon forget the drama and
sudden shock of massed fire; nor shall they forget the slow drive along strange woods through a strange
country, towards a strange and hazy destination.
The ninth of June the firing batteries came in, and Lt. Andrews, A battery, and Lt. Lasher, B Battery,
forward observers, went up with the infantry.  At 1045 we fired a 15 minute preparation on a road
junction near Chef De Pont for the 82nd Airborne Division.  Along with the support of the 345th Field
Artillery Battalion this was the first firing done by the 90th Division Artillery.  Fox hole digging was
one of the important duties; no prodding was necessary.
June 10 and 11th was spent in position near St. Mere Eglise.  The Luftwaffe made a call on the night of
the 10th and the morning of the eleventh – a call of death.  Four dead and 16 wounded.  A false gas
alarm was given during this attack.  Numerous incidents relating to this alarm can be recalled by many,
the 20 casualties had a sobering effect on all.  From this position the battalion fired on the areas held by
the enemy near the Merderet River.  Strong enemy artillery fire was reported falling in this sector.  Our
mission was to neutralize that particular area.  Made a lateral movement to Chef du Pont on the evening
of the eleventh, where we continued to fire heavy concentrations in support of the infantry.  There were
paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne in our battalion area.  These men were the remnants of the thousands
dropped on D-Day.  They had fought continually since landing, the casualties heavy.  Their parachutes
and wrecked gliders dotted the small fields of Normandy.  The hedgerows were the traps from which
they had fought and died.  Heavily armed, and battlewise, they continued to fight along with the infantry
of the various divisions whenever contact was made.  Many the night their voices growled out of the
darkness: "keep that damn noise down.  Where the hell you think you are?  Damn artillerymen."
June thirteenth – the battle for Etienville [Pont l’Abbe] and Piccaville was well underway.  Here
the Allies hit them with everything in the book.  It was here that Lt. Andrews won his recommendation
for the Silver Star.  Lt.  Andrews, an artilleryman, led a platoon of doughboys to the attack, after their
officers had become casualties.  Lt.  Lasher was killed this day while driving through Piccaville by one
of our own bombs.  That night we fired a big concentration for a river crossing by the 82nd Airborne.  It
was a successful mission.
On the fifteenth of June we moved to Amfreville to support the 357th Infantry, which was between the
4th and 9th divisions, who later pinched us out.  We remained there until the night of the eighteenth
when we made a night move to the vicinity of Gourbesville.  This was a night of slow movement and
great suspense, as roving German planes flared the roads.  The days in Normandy were long, the nights
short; the men were tired and rest came in short doses; a night march increased attention and put the men
on edge.  As the flares turned our cloak of darkness into well lighted highways, the men huddled lower
in the trucks.  The ghostly light emphasized the fatigue lines around their mouths and gave their features
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