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D-Day: 64 years ago today
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| Lionel Capoldo (from left) 82; Dorman Clayton, 86; and Henry Smith Keel, 86, recently relived their World War II combat experiences during the D-Day invasion at Normandy. JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter |
Local veterans recall participation in invasion at Normandy.
By MICHAEL MITSEFF
mmitseff@lakecityreporter.com
Each man answered America’s call to arms in his own way. Each did his part.
Lionel Capoldo, Carlos Crews, Henry Smith Keel and Dorman Clayton are four Columbia County veterans who participated 64 years ago today in the largest land and air attack in modern warfare history — the June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion at Normandy.
Code named “Operation Overlord,” and commanded by American Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Allies landed at five Normandy beaches
on D-Day. The American beaches were Utah and Omaha on the western flank. The Canadians had Juno, flanked on both sides by the British at Gold beach and Sword beach.
The deadliest and western-most was Utah beach; it was about eight miles from
St. Mère Église, France.
More than 1 million men would eventually come ashore at Normandy and liberate all of northern France by the end of August 1944.
Thousands of paratroopers were dropped behind German lines the night before the amphibious landings as Allied planes pounded the Nazi defenders overlooking the beaches. Local French resistance forces in advance of the imminent invasion, engaged in behind-the-lines sabotage and combat against the occupying Germans.
“We started dropping the paratroopers from our C-47s at 2 o’clock in the morning,” said Keel, 86. “I was flying in the lead airplane with my squadron commander.
“We had a stream of 1,500 airplanes, all in a V-formation, all dropping
paratroopers.”
The 101st Airborne Division was dropped by parachute near Vierville to support the Utah Beach landings, and the 82nd Airborne Division was dropped by parachute near
St. Mère Église to protect its flank, according to historical documents.
Keel said he and his crew were anxious to finish the drop.
“I wanted to get this over with and get out of here,” Keel reminisced. “It was kind of noisy and we were getting shot at pretty good — I lost my wingman on that flight, too.
“So we flew up the coastline of the peninsula, as close to the coastline as we could, to stay away from the boats coming in,” Keel said. “When we got
back to England in the morning, we found out that everything had gone pretty well as far as our outfit was concerned.”
Crews, 88, was stationed on a troop carrier and was also involved in airborne operations during the invasion.
“I was an aerial engineer, I had about 10 of these C-47s in my charge, and I was responsible for getting them off the ground, getting them on the mission,” Crews said.
“We were dropping paratroopers, towing gliders, hauling gasoline and supplies, evacuating the wounded,” Crews said. “There is a lot going through your mind, but you don’t worry about it, you just accept it, and you go ahead and do your job, like everybody else.
“Those guys were putting their life on the line,” he said. “They were going to drop behind enemy lines and, of course, the glider pilots had a one-way trip because once they landed behind the lines, it was up to them to get back to their units.”
More than six decades later, Crews can recall his emotions at that time as if it happened yesterday.
“The roar of the engines and knowing what was ahead of us is very vivid in my mind,” Crews said. “These are days that you never forget and, needless to say, we lost many airplanes and soldiers, but we made it.”
Capoldo, 82, was on a gun boat during the invasion, patrolling just offshore of the Normandy beach, protecting the soldiers as they struggled to find safe ground under the withering gun fire from Germans entrenched above the beaches.
“I was on an English ship during the invasion of Normandy, we went in with the first waves and stayed right in close to shore for the whole day,” Capoldo remembered. “We patrolled back and forth along the coast, close in to Omaha Beach providing support for the men.”
Capoldo said he didn’t actually see the invasion, but he did hear it.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the invasion itself,” Capoldo said. “I was stationed down in the magazine (location of ammunition), and we were all in General Quarters; you don’t see a darn thing when you’re in a magazine.
“The noise — I remember, there was a lot of noise,” Capoldo said. “We were between the shore and the battleship Texas, and they were shooting over us, along with all the other ships that were firing.”
Clayton, 86, was a gunner with the 186th Field Artillery Battalion, attached to the 1st Army. Clayton said he landed briefly on the sands of Omaha beach with his gun battery, which consisted of about 45 men, four six-ton 155 mm howitzers and four M-5 tanks.
“We took very little part in the invasion of France at Normandy because we were two days late getting in,” Clayton said. “We dished them out some headaches as we moved forward into the interior of France,” Clayton said. “Once we crossed the Rhine River, for all practical purposes, the war was over; it was just a matter of time.”
Capoldo said not knowing how the battle was going topside was both good and bad.
“We were wondering, all the time wondering, but you were relieved in some way that you didn’t know what was happening,” Capoldo said.
“People were sort of looking forward to it (the invasion),” he said. “We wanted to get the thing going, get it over with because we knew we were over there to do a job, and we intended to do it just as quickly as we could and get back home.”
INFORMATION
D-Day Normandy Veterans of North Central Florida
■ Bryan Walker, director (352) 372-9685
■ Open to participants of the Normandy D-Day invasion from June 6, 1944, through July 28, 1944
Lionel Capoldo, Carlos Crews, Henry Smith Keel and Dorman Clayton are four Columbia County veterans who participated 64 years ago today in the largest land and air attack in modern warfare history — the June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion at Normandy.
Code named “Operation Overlord,” and commanded by American Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Allies landed at five Normandy beaches
on D-Day. The American beaches were Utah and Omaha on the western flank. The Canadians had Juno, flanked on both sides by the British at Gold beach and Sword beach.
The deadliest and western-most was Utah beach; it was about eight miles from
St. Mère Église, France.
More than 1 million men would eventually come ashore at Normandy and liberate all of northern France by the end of August 1944.
Thousands of paratroopers were dropped behind German lines the night before the amphibious landings as Allied planes pounded the Nazi defenders overlooking the beaches. Local French resistance forces in advance of the imminent invasion, engaged in behind-the-lines sabotage and combat against the occupying Germans.
“We started dropping the paratroopers from our C-47s at 2 o’clock in the morning,” said Keel, 86. “I was flying in the lead airplane with my squadron commander.
“We had a stream of 1,500 airplanes, all in a V-formation, all dropping
paratroopers.”
The 101st Airborne Division was dropped by parachute near Vierville to support the Utah Beach landings, and the 82nd Airborne Division was dropped by parachute near
St. Mère Église to protect its flank, according to historical documents.
Keel said he and his crew were anxious to finish the drop.
“I wanted to get this over with and get out of here,” Keel reminisced. “It was kind of noisy and we were getting shot at pretty good — I lost my wingman on that flight, too.
“So we flew up the coastline of the peninsula, as close to the coastline as we could, to stay away from the boats coming in,” Keel said. “When we got
back to England in the morning, we found out that everything had gone pretty well as far as our outfit was concerned.”
Crews, 88, was stationed on a troop carrier and was also involved in airborne operations during the invasion.
“I was an aerial engineer, I had about 10 of these C-47s in my charge, and I was responsible for getting them off the ground, getting them on the mission,” Crews said.
“We were dropping paratroopers, towing gliders, hauling gasoline and supplies, evacuating the wounded,” Crews said. “There is a lot going through your mind, but you don’t worry about it, you just accept it, and you go ahead and do your job, like everybody else.
“Those guys were putting their life on the line,” he said. “They were going to drop behind enemy lines and, of course, the glider pilots had a one-way trip because once they landed behind the lines, it was up to them to get back to their units.”
More than six decades later, Crews can recall his emotions at that time as if it happened yesterday.
“The roar of the engines and knowing what was ahead of us is very vivid in my mind,” Crews said. “These are days that you never forget and, needless to say, we lost many airplanes and soldiers, but we made it.”
Capoldo, 82, was on a gun boat during the invasion, patrolling just offshore of the Normandy beach, protecting the soldiers as they struggled to find safe ground under the withering gun fire from Germans entrenched above the beaches.
“I was on an English ship during the invasion of Normandy, we went in with the first waves and stayed right in close to shore for the whole day,” Capoldo remembered. “We patrolled back and forth along the coast, close in to Omaha Beach providing support for the men.”
Capoldo said he didn’t actually see the invasion, but he did hear it.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the invasion itself,” Capoldo said. “I was stationed down in the magazine (location of ammunition), and we were all in General Quarters; you don’t see a darn thing when you’re in a magazine.
“The noise — I remember, there was a lot of noise,” Capoldo said. “We were between the shore and the battleship Texas, and they were shooting over us, along with all the other ships that were firing.”
Clayton, 86, was a gunner with the 186th Field Artillery Battalion, attached to the 1st Army. Clayton said he landed briefly on the sands of Omaha beach with his gun battery, which consisted of about 45 men, four six-ton 155 mm howitzers and four M-5 tanks.
“We took very little part in the invasion of France at Normandy because we were two days late getting in,” Clayton said. “We dished them out some headaches as we moved forward into the interior of France,” Clayton said. “Once we crossed the Rhine River, for all practical purposes, the war was over; it was just a matter of time.”
Capoldo said not knowing how the battle was going topside was both good and bad.
“We were wondering, all the time wondering, but you were relieved in some way that you didn’t know what was happening,” Capoldo said.
“People were sort of looking forward to it (the invasion),” he said. “We wanted to get the thing going, get it over with because we knew we were over there to do a job, and we intended to do it just as quickly as we could and get back home.”
INFORMATION
D-Day Normandy Veterans of North Central Florida
■ Bryan Walker, director (352) 372-9685
■ Open to participants of the Normandy D-Day invasion from June 6, 1944, through July 28, 1944
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| Securing the evidence |
