10 True Tales by Allan Zullo

Author:Allan Zullo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2015-08-15T04:00:00+00:00

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After his discharge from the Army, Forrest “Woody” Vosler went to college and then spent 30 years as a counselor with the Veterans Administration (now known as the Department of Veterans Affairs). He retired to Titusville, Florida, where he passed away in 1992. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Lieutenant Colonel James Rudder, commander of the Second Ranger Battalion, stared at his top officers and said, “I won’t lie. This mission is going to be real tough. But if there is any unit that can pull it off, it’s us Rangers.” He took a deep breath.

“All we have to do is cross rough water to a tiny beach while under fire from concealed guns. Then we have thirty minutes to climb a one-hundred-foot cliff while the Germans are shooting at us from above. Next, we must knock out six big guns, set up roadblocks, and destroy German communication lines. Then after we do all that, we have to hold the position against any counterattacks from the landward side.”

He didn’t have to remind the men what would happen if they didn’t pull off this seemingly impossible mission. They knew failure could endanger the greatest invasion the modern world would ever know. And failure could spell their own doom.

“This is what we’ve trained for,” Rudder said. “This is why we’re the ones chosen to lead Operation Overlord.”

It was just after midnight, June 6, 1944, the opening minutes of D-day. Rudder was talking to his officers aboard the HMS New Amsterdam, which was transporting 225 Rangers. The vessel was part of the largest armada ever assembled, as more than 5,000 ships carrying three million American, British, and Canadian forces started across the English Channel. Their objective: to invade five beaches along the French coast of Normandy — code-named Omaha, Utah, Sword, Gold, and Juno — in a bold attempt to break Nazi Germany’s iron grip on Europe.

But first, six giant 155-mm guns had to be disabled. These guns, which had a range of more than 10 miles, sat atop Pointe du Hoc, a steep oceanside cliff that gave the Germans an unrestricted field of fire onto Omaha and Utah beaches. The dangerous job of disabling the guns was given to Rudder and his men.

The Rangers were considered the best of the best in the military — brave, brawny volunteers willing to try the impossible. They had trained hard for two years under extreme conditions, scaling 150-foot-tall cliffs on ropes while carrying a full battle pack, weapons, and extra ammunition weighing a total of about 200 pounds. Rudder, a rugged no-nonsense 34-year-old former Texas rancher, drove his men unmercifully, believing it was the only way to succeed.

General Omar Bradley, commander of the First Army Group, had told Rudder, “It is the most dangerous mission of D-day. No soldier in my command has ever been wished a more difficult task.”

“My Rangers can do the job, General,” Rudder confidently declared.

Shortly before dawn, after a pancake breakfast, Rudder and the other Rangers got ready to climb into 11 landing-craft-assault vessels (LCAs) in heavy seas.

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