Thursday, June 20, 2024

Kewaunee County & D-Day

 


 https://exploringrworld.com/a-visit-to-the-d-day-beaches-gold-juno-and-sword/

June 6 was the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Under General Dwight D. Eisenhower, over 160,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, to gain the European foothold in Europe that led to the defeat of Germany a year later. History tells us that more than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the invasion. Of the landed troops, more than 9,000 were killed or wounded. Some died jumping from the Higgins boats into the rough surf. Cousin Cal said the heavy packs pulled some under, and if it helped if one could swim, Cal said it is debatable.

D-Day – or any other war or invasion – just didn’t happen “over there.” Kewaunee County has been touched by all the wars. Even the War of 1812. Then British sloops Felicity and Archangel were patrolling Lake Michigan to keep an eye on the French and alliances they might be forming with Native Americans. Joseph McCormick, who first visited the area in 1834, came out of that war with the rank of Major. He is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery. Civil War veterans were buried in Ahnepee/Ahnapee/Algoma before McCormick, but his military service was the earliest. Ahnepee/Ahnapee/Algoma men were among the Kewaunee County men who served in the Civil War and in those after. Algoma men were among the Kewaunee County men at Normandy too.

During late summer 1944, Algoma Record Herald carried a reprint from Canton Repository. The article looked back at D-Day saying that America was not then fighting with money and material, but with thousands of lives. The Repository said that until war struck home, it was not understood. It was happening daily with telegrams from the Secretary of War saying he “regrets to announce…..” or “he died heroically.” The article went on to say that survivors paid in sorrow for the sacrifice of the dead and only survivors were qualified to speak of the war.

This anniversary probably marks the last time World War ll veterans will be in attendance for the anniversary event. Few who lived through World War ll are alive now. Who will begin to understand the sacrifices made at Normandy and all over the world in a few years?

The National World War ll Museum at New Orleans says that of the 160,000 allied troops storming a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast, there were 8,230 U.S. men who were killed in action, wounded in action, or reported missing. Thousands more allied troops were wounded or were missing. Algoma men were among those in the ships, landing craft and planes, or in the 50,000 vehicles striking beaches with code names such as Utah, Omaha, Juno, Gold, and Sword. Omaha Beach saw the greatest number of casualties. Second Lt.William Murphy was born in Oconto but located in Kewaunee in 1945. He was known to be at the Omaha Beach landing with the 35th Division. Kewaunee's Sgt. Marvin Zimmermann was there with the 3rd Division.

By June 11, when the beachheads were secured, over 326,000 men had crossed with over 100,000 tons of equipment. Eleven months later, on May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered.

The Nevada was the only ship present at both Pearl Harbor and Normandy, and Gunner’s Mate Ray Gerhart was aboard. Gerhart manned the big guns. Another on board was Pharmacist’s Mate 3c Melvin Nessinger who was kept busy in sick bay. Being launched in 1914 and serving in World War l, the old battleship was the flagship at the Utah Beach landing. Hit by 7 bombs and 2 torpedoes at Pearl Harbor, the ship lost 120 men.

U.S. Navy Seaman Melvin F. Lessmiller was one who took part in the invasion of Iwo Jima and in the invasion of the Philippine Islands. He also took part in D-Day though aboard the Texas, the sister ship of the Nevada.

When Pfc. Thomas Kaye returned to Algoma, the Record Herald noted his certificate from his commanding general, Maj. Gen. Charles H. Gerhardt, who recognized the unusual fighting toughness of his 29th Infantry Division at Normandy. All participants of Normandy were entitled to one star on their theater ribbons. Kaye was wounded at Normandy in July and returned to the front six weeks later.

Seaman Melvin Nessinger wrote to his parents from the Nevada, telling them D-Day was something Hollywood could never reproduce. He said several hours before H-hour, the sky was lit with dropping shells, but the men didn’t know whose shells they were. He said their minds were torn by what they’d find and the mines that lined roads. Nessinger contrasted the tracers’ beautiful patterns across the sky as the ship vibrated in the drone of over 800 bombers and shells hitting an 8-mile stretch of beach.

Although the Germans knew Normandy was going to happen, their intelligence didn’t have the exact timing. Weather made the difference. Shore batteries were firing on the invasion fleet when just after dawn Messerschmitts came out of a cloud bank to meet tracer fire. For Nessinger, hours melted into days and nights, and during the days one could see Allied transports from horizon to horizon as bombers and fighters worked to find enemy positions. Mel thanked folks for their letters and the prayers which he said were being heard. He was proud to be serving on the ship and glad his parents had heard how well the men on the Nevada accounted for themselves. The Nevada set new records for accuracy that day.

Though Lessmiller was in the Navy at Iwo Jima and Normandy, he credited the Marines when he told his parents that the Marines have “what it takes, and they take what they land on, no matter what.” Both Nessinger and Gerhart went on to remind Algoma residents to keep buying war bonds because on D-Day alone the Nevada presented “the Germans with a gift of a million and a half dollars in ammunition alone.” To put that into perspective, that amount would be about $26,000,000.00 in 2024.

When Judge Donald Gleason spoke at Algoma High School’s 1944 commencement, he offered graduates advice and encouragement. He referenced the war and D-Day saying the graduates would never forget their “graduation and D-Day – the day of the European invasion.” It is doubtful that any ever did.

A week or two later, the Record Herald editorialized about the thousands and thousands of “American boys” giving their lives to “erase Nazi tyranny from the face of this globe.” The paper pointed out that such tragedy stirred others and that a steady flow of war materials was necessary. The paper went on to say that maybe production wasn’t as dramatic as men struggling against machine guns but production was imperative. The paper opined that one day Algoma residents might learn that Algoma-made airplane and glider parts played a role in the invasion of Europe. Residents did indeed learn the role of Algoma Plywood in its production of boat hulls, airplane wings, nose cones and the plywood being shipped to other places for further manufacturing.

And the U.S.S. Nevada? Wikipedia tells us that Nessinger and Gerhart served aboard the 2nd U.S. Navy ship to be named for the 36th state. Launched in 1914, it was the lead ship of two Nevada-class battleships and the first of the “standard-type” battleships. Trapped at Pearl Harbor during the attack on December 7, it was the only battleship to get underway during the attack. The damaged ship was salvaged and modernized to serve in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. In addition to the invasion of Normandy, the U.S.S. Nevada took part in the bombing of Cherbourg and the invasion of southern France. When the war was over, the old battleship was used for atomic bomb practice. It was decommissioned in August 1946 and later sunk for naval gunfire practice.

Nessinger, Gerhart, and Lessmiller told some of their D-Day stories. Stangelville’s James Steinberger never did. He was one of the thousands killed at D-Day. The Record Herald said that “up and down the quiet streets of this country and along rural highways, the homes of America were paying the price for D-Day.” Casualty lists were beginning to catch up.

Twenty-two-year-old Pvt. Steinberger, of Co. M, 16th U.S. Infantry, served a little over a year before he was killed in action. He was buried at a military cemetery in France until remains were brought home in April 1948. He was posthumously awarded Bronze Star. There were memorial rites for Staff Sergeant Sylvan Seidl who was missing in action on November 20. Seidl took part in the D-Day invasion with the 28th Infantry and saw action in Luxembourg where he was wounded. On December 15, 1944, Kewaunee Enterprise told readership that Casco’s Sgt. Sylvan Seidl, 29, was missing in action in Luxembourg on the German frontier, according to messages from the Red Cross and from the War Department. He enlisted in July 1941 and was awarded a Purple Heart.

The July 28, 1944, paper brought news of another death. Town of Luxemburg Army Paratrooper Cpl. Joseph Treml was another killed in action at Normandy on June 21. He was a veteran of North African campaigns and Sicily before being transferred to Ireland. From there he took part in the Normandy invasion. A memorial requiem mass was held at Casco.

Gerhart said four days before the ship was sealed with no outside contact permitted. When they got underway, the invasion was called off so they spent 12 hours at sea while mine sweepers were busy cleaning the channel. When the invasion started, they could hear the bombardment 100 miles from the Normandy coast. He said when they got to their objective, they found it was a complete surprise to the Germans but at “6:00 all hell tore loose.” Their first job was breaking down the German wall on the shoreline, blowing it up to that the landing forces and tanks could get through. He said it was a giant structure of concrete and steel, 12’ thick and 8’ thick wide, constructed all along the Normandy coast except where there were natural cliffs. Blowing up that wall consisted of 10 rapid salvos into the structure. After that, they switched to beach targets. Gerhart described the marshes along the Normandy coast that were flooded by the Germans to protect against invasion.

Raymond Julius Gerhart was born in Algoma on September 4, 1921, and died on October 15, 1979, in San Diego, California. He is buried in El Camino Memorial Park

The Nevada was at her station for 79 hours and when the ammunition ran out, the ship returned to an English port, reloaded, and went right back out. All in all, the Nevada was at Normandy a week. Every night, he said, they were under attack by the German’s new radio-controlled bomb, but with a new secret defense installed on the ship, the bombs dropped harmlessly out of the way. Lessmiller and Nessinger were proud of their work and said that on D-Day the Nevada set new records for accuracy in fire.

During July 1981, Record Herald ran an article about Larry Zirbel, the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Zirbel, who spent D-Day aboard ship. Zirbel, who no longer lived in the area, served in the Navy and spent 38 months on a troop transport, making 13 round trips taking 6,000 men across the Atlantic and bringing German prisoners to the U.S. on the return trip. After D-Day, passengers were wounded Americans.

Coast Guardsman Darwin J. Paul was a member of the Naval crew in the American Assault Force on the D-Day invasion and Lt. Adrian O’Konski was with the 8th Air Force when he was awarded the Air Medal for exceptionally meritorious achievement. He was a navigator on a Flying Fortress and took part in what he called “the greatest show ever staged -the D-Day invasion of June 6.”

Pfc. John R. Liebl of Luxemburg was a member of the glider troops of the 82nd Airborne Infantry Div. that had landed hours before American, Canadian, and English troops were wading to the beaches of France on D-Day. Liebl’s division held off two full German divisions that were trying to stop the landings. They captured two towns and fought for and held four bridges. Lt. Ted Burmeister of Kewaunee received a Presidential citation leading an assault at Normandy. Otto W. Marek, Jr., formerly of Kewaunee was wounded at Normandy.


Also at Normandy was the U.S. Corps of Engineers' tug Ludington, now in Kewaunee's harbor and open to being toured. The tug belonged to the Army in 1944. It eventually was taken to Charleston where four Kewaunee area men were sent to get it. Renamed, the Ludinton was the workhorse of the Great Lakes and worked on Lake Michogan's harbors and piers and well beyond.

Note: A list of Kewaunee County men known to be at Normandy will be included in this post soon. Given the county's population and the number of men and women in service, the list is substantial.

Sources: Algoma Record Herald; Kewaunee Enterprise; World War ll Museum, New Orleans, visit.

Map: https://exploringrworld.com/a-visit-to-the-d-day-beaches-gold-juno-and-sword/

Paintings: NLJ Art

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