Cassandra Victor

D-DAY AND WHAT HAPPENED

June 6, 1944, zero three hundred 3 hours and 30 minutes until the landing at Omaha Beach. The Allied fleet has come to a stop. Soldiers stand aboard wet decks preparing to launch the largest amphibious invasion ever attempted. They look at the men standing next to them, knowing that before the day is over, many of their brothers will become bloody corpses lying on the sands of Omaha Beach. The ship rocks on choppy water. The wind is supposed to be calm; the waters still. Instead, it feels like a storm is brewing. However, this storm will not be one of rain and lightning but artillery shells, machine guns, and explosions. A colonel shouts orders across the deck. The soldiers begin loading into their landing vessels. They cling to their weapons as if they were life preservers.