elsie item issue 67 - USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association

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Author’s notes and sources:I have notes from my interviews of LCIers andsoldiers regarding LCI Group 34 dating back eightyears. My interest in this matter was not onlypiqued because my father was a member of thisLCI group but because I could not find any LCIerwho could conclusively tell me where they landedtroops on Omaha Beach. I was further confusedby Army sources and noted historians who inerror listed LCIs at Omaha beach that actuallyserved exclusively in the Pacific. To unravel thismystery, LCI National Association TreasurerHoward “Tiny” Clarkson referred me to 115thRCT, 29th Division veteran Billy Melander who inturn referred me to a French historian by thename of Laurent Lefebvre who finally set mestraight. Army planners for “Operation Neptune”,the invasion of Omaha Beach had to designate anumber for LCIs long before they found out whichLCI would actually transport the troops to thebeach. These “Army numbers” would be usedrepeatedly by historians instead of the actual LCInumber. I also discovered that all of the AfterAction Reports (AARs) of LCI Group34 reflectedwhere they were supposed to land and not wherethey actually landed. This story explains why.that makes sense chronologically. My three primarysources are: 1) “Omaha Beachhead”,American Forces in Action Series, HistoricalDivision, War Department. This book is obtainablethrough the U.S. Government Printing Officeand is a must read for anyone interested inOmaha Beach. 2) “Omaha Beach” by JosephBalkoski, published by Stackpole Books. I haveread stacks of books regarding Omaha Beachand I find Mr. Balkoski to be the most accurate. Iconsider him to be the premier historian on thistopic. 3) “Cracking Hitler’s Atlantic Wall” byCaptain Lindsay R. Henry, USNR (Retired) andCaptain Thomas E. Henry, USNR (Retired), publishedby Thomas Henry. This is the story of theCommander of Group 34.The real authors of this story are the Skippers ofthe LCIs or Executive Officers who wrote theAfter Action Reports (AARs) for June 6, 1944. Isimply paraphrase what they already wrote andsupport and corroborate their information withtestimony of the LCIers and soldiers involved inthe landings. The quotes in the story are fromthe participants whom I interviewed and I am referencingin the narrative. In regard to WesleyMay of LCI 554, I relied on letters and notes providedto me by his son Derek who helped set meon this course many years ago. My narrative leadingup to the involvement of Group 34 is derivedprimarily from “Omaha Beachhead”, the officialhistory of the Army. All other information is fromthe AARs unless I list the source. Other than theinterviews, most of my time was splicing theinformation gained from the AARs into something22
The Rest of the Story!John France Tells How The “Guest Book”of the LCI Website Really Pays Off!A little known collateral duty performed by ourTreasurer, Hal Bleyhl is his constant monitoringof the “Guest Book” on our LCI web site. It isinvaluable work, and a testimony to the power ofour LCI Association web site. Many of the“Guests” are sons, daughters and other relativesof LCIers who have passed away. These peopleseek information about their loved ones and areoften rewarded by Hal who refers them to shipmateswho are members of our Association or tothe LCI Historians—Dennis Blocker and me.Certainly, the biggest surprise Hal gave me wason January, 8th of this year when he forwardedme a message from Heyward Messer Cantrell ofJacksonville, Florida.Last year, I wrote a story for Elsie Item regardingLCI 487 and LCI 93 at Omaha Beach. In thatstory, I told of William Heyward Messer, a young1st Lieutenant with the First Infantry Divisionwho was killed while descending the ramp of LCI487 on June 6, 1944 – his first day in combat.Days before, he had celebrated the birth of hisonly child while on board LCI 487 with his fellowsoldiers and members of the crew of the 487. Iwas haunted by the fact that this young man waskilled without ever seeing his child. I was frustratedthat I could not locate his widow or childduring my research for the story. Amazingly, HalBleyhl sent me the following message from the“Guest Book” on our web site:“Dear John France,I recently saw and read your account of LCI 487during the Normandy Invasion. I was surprisedto read an account of the death of my father, 1stLt Heyward Messer as he left LCI 487. The onlyerror I want to point out is your description of hisnewborn child as his daughter. The child was ason, who was me. I was born May 10, 1944. Ifyou have any further information regardingHeyward Messer, I would like to hear from you.Sincerely, Heyward Messer Cantrell”I followed up with both e mails and telephoneconversations with Mr. Messer in regard to hisfather and I was able to place him in contactwith Patrick O’Donnell from LCI 487. Patrickhelped 1st Lt Messer celebrate the birth of hischild on LCI 487 in 1944, and he had specificdetails to provide his son in 2009. What a wonderfulending to nearly a 65 year-old story! Yes,there is great value in our web site and kudos toall involved with maintaining it – especially to theever vigilant Hal Bleyhl who doesn’t miss a thing.23
Page 3 and 4: From the Editor/PresidentPortland,
Page 5 and 6: A Special Message to My Fellow Affi
Page 7 and 8: Letters to the EditorJohn,I enjoyed
Page 9 and 10: The Fortunate Redirection:Landing C
Page 11 and 12: Reproduced from D-Day, by Stephen E
Page 13 and 14: VanBlake of LCI 540. VanBlake was a
Page 15 and 16: Signalman Jack Gale stood on the Co
Page 17 and 18: The stern anchor let out by LCI 553
Page 19 and 20: Mate Second Class Walter “Buck”
Page 21: The last two sailors to get off LCI
Page 25 and 26: with a “V” for valor among othe
Page 27 and 28: THE 2009 LCI CALENDAR!A GREAT COLLE
Page 29 and 30: A HEARTENING RESPONSE!LCIers Rally
Page 31 and 32: USS LCI NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONAPPLICA

elsie item issue 67 - USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association

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