European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 18, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Nobody can imagine the slaughter1 Bye Ortavis  writer  cruel Mil Lii n kind to German Soldier he. Ii Severloh on d Day. Cruel because in was  a a in .1 Bunker on Omaha Leach on june. I m 1  Bei Ause in lived to Tell about in. 1o or hours. Severloh and his comrades resisted i  ill american stoop. Landing at Omaha Ltd. I h German lines cracked inure   i. I  were killed or wounded. To  seve Luli .1 businessman lives on his  Lar a i i the Hamlet i Mel men. In i user Savony.  i Day he , lie was a Farmer in uniform in  i. Looking through bloc ulars Al the sea in fun of the dunes of Oll Eville. At Llull . Severloh recalls the German troops . In irom la Weir comfortable quarters Al the Fain House of i  be grand in  Hir Leville to Man la Weir positions because Mai. Winner i Pluskal s Bunker in the i Oast had Given an . I have la Nerret i history Here. I was the first la Sec five  he it was seven ships running parallel to the to i Laving a smoke s re ii lie says. I hey were or  Lor about one minute but visible with the naked eve. 11 ailed  i relink. My oin Mander who also saw them. All the reports i know Laim we never saw those  Sev Erli in said i Rekig then ailed nearby i Orlen . Where the germans had some Small ships to ask it they Hail seen the Toni Mascis. Lilicy had t. I reims then ordered signals Bei Ause he wanted to know in they were German or enemy ships. There was la answer and the germans then knew they were enemy ships. 1 hey they heard heavy Allied bombers overhead. The ensuing Aerial bombardment Lull their positions virtually  Allied 1 he defenders were preparing for breakfast when i raking puked up his binoculars and looked out Oil Man. They re Here the Tlell he said. We All saw in in was a f ily no water just a re it. Massive Metal Grey City with those strange.  balloons slipping steadily toward us says sevc i Loli of the Landing c rails he and ins comrades saw coming toward Shore. Ii was Obi tide. They knew the invaders would have to Wade helplessly through shoulder deep water the first Landing boat started toward them. I Bey blood on lop of the Bunker where they could have been seen if the men in the boats had looked. Linking said to me gel the machine gun ready. Hit them when they re in the water before they have Lime to spread out. Not a minute earlier they had their rifles on their Baks and could t depend themselves. Freking looked Al me and said poor dogs and in was just that. We let them come to within 100 Yards away from our position. They were  deep in Waler when we began firing away. I lived the usual pattern going from left to right and then up the ramp As they Carne Down. I Hen we slopped firing Anil i was banded a Rifle and Sicil at those swimming in the Waler. Ii was Slaughter i Don t know How Many were on thai , but i doubt if i Oil of them made it to  alter tin War Severloh found David Silva one of the men he wounded at the Sei lion of Omaha Beach called for Green. Silva told Severloh and years earlier author Cornelius Ryan that Landing Al Omaha Beac h was like being a Pigeon in a trap  Silva a private Al the time saw his t  mowed Down As they stepped off the Landing Boa. When he hit the Waler. Ssh ii h was Over his head machine gun fire riddled his pack clothing and canteen. When he readied the seawall he disc overed he had been wounded in the Back and the right leg. When Severloh Mel the american. Silva was an army chaplain stationed in Germany. I hey pinned Down the exact place e where they we re on the morning of Une l1 Al a and Are convinced that Sevedus was the mat Bine gunner Silva saw when he ass kilo Heinrich Severloh manned a German machine gun in Lune 6, 1144, As american troops struggled ashore Al Omaha Beach. Landed. Silva tried to shool but his Rifle was i lugged with Sand. After the . Command Reali edits troops weren t getting off the Beach Al Omaha Cannon ire was c once rated on German Beach positions. I Hen we really started gelling i bombs and Cannon fire from the ships for about four hours Severloh says. Nobody who was nut there can imagine what it was like to he on the receiving end of that fire. Nobody can imagine the Slaughter. After we ran out of ammunition there was nothing for us survivors to do hut make a run for in. We All Shook hands and i peking said i Lein you go first i la he behind you we c raw led and dug our Way  Sevedus lumped from one Crater to another and made in to the other Side of the Rise whole a 1st div Monument stands today. T e  joined by a radioman. They heard screams. And then silence. No one else made it. In i m7, when Severloh got out of a prisoner of War Camp he wrote to be grand Bis old  he told him a Vaclov where to look Lor i Rekig s grave. I the Keg s remains were moved to the Erman military cemetery Al la Caine. Sun Educ says that while he and the radioman were trying to escape to the German lines they Drew machine gun fire. The bullets passed through both the radioman s buttocks and went through Severloh s pay records Book hit him in the hip and knocked him three Yards away. Severloh and the radioman met up with soldiers from their division who were Halfway Between the Beach and Coleville. I told them there was nothing left at the Beath and they wore now the front line. Apparently i was Given Medicine in some form or another because i Only remember not feeling any More  Severloh was Given a Rifle and told to guard four american soldiers they had captured. One had a Bullet through his Chin. The american prisoner who Sal next to him spoke to him in a German dialog i  la i in  when Are you going to shool us i said  so isl our what did you say " "1,1.  in Diu it when Are you going to shool us Severloh told him no one was going to shool them. I be then asked the american where the Devil he d licked up that German dialect. I be said from his parents nil he did t know what part of the country they c ame from. I be used a pure form of the dialect spoken 50 Kilometres North of Here Meringen Severloh s Home Severloh says they then tried to Hook up with the next German units near Coleville taking with them the four american prisoners and several badly wounded soldiers. About 1uo meters Down the Road we Drew lire but nobody was Hurt. We were stuck behind one of those numerous hedgerows that Divide Normandy into Little squares of Field. You could t raise your head without getting a Bullet through it we were in a hopelessly lust situation. We then told one of the american prisoners that he should Tell his comrades that we wanted to surrender. The War was Over for me. I had mixed emotions about what would happen to me but i was greatly relieved. I Hank god that madman i Tiller did t win the War. We d still be on the  8 stripes Magazine May 10, 7989