European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 6, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse , a what outfit is this a a the rangers a Hathaway answered. But he kept thinking to himself a a brigadier general. What the hell is he doing Here a he got through the wire. Nearby was a Man crawling at a cockeyed Angle who complained a a in a shot across the Hathaway made it to the top of the Bluff to the High ground. 1 he moved done to know where the hell it came from a he said but he ran past a a Donkey attached to a cart still finally he looked Back and saw the men of the 29th div the main infantry Force that hit Omaha. They weren to trained he thought. No one had told them to get the hell out of the water where the concussion alone could kill you. No one had drilled into them hard enough that the Only Way to live was to get across the Beach. And the hunkering men slowed the whole Landing. The engineers blow the obstacles because the men were clinging to them in search of something anything that could Anchor them in the midst of the Bloodbath. Hathaway and about two dozen other rangers accomplished what the rest of the invasion Force do the morning of june 6 at Omaha Beach. They broke through the German lines. But they weren to trying to capture ground. Their Mission was to find the guns at Pointe do hoc. A a a a a by 8 . Atop Pointe do hoc 45 minutes after scaling the Cliffs the rangers from the first wave strike Force accomplished their secondary Mission establishing a Roadblock along the coastal Highway that runs about a mile Inland from the Point. A few minutes later a German foot patrol with about 40 heavily armed men approached on the coastal Road. Len Lomelli a platoon a remnant numbering 13, hunkered Down in the ditches trying to remain unseen As the germans passed within 20 feet of them. A we tried to crawl through the ground a Lomell said. A i was in the dirt although they had the element of Surprise the rangers wanted to find the coastal guns not pick a firelight. A who the hell wants to win the Battle and lose the War a Lomell said. A the rangers were willing to die to find those guns and to destroy them. They were psyched to believe they would save tens of thousands of and Many rangers did give their lives in the quest for the guns. Of the 225 men who set out june 6 for Pointe do hoc 81 were killed in action. When their part of the Battle ended More than two Days later Only 90 were left standing and most of them had been wounded. A of 68 men of dog company a Lomell said a Only 13 of us walked off of Pointe do nce the German patrol was gone he and staff sgt. Jack Kuhn backtracked a few Yards East along the coastal Road to search for the missing enemy guns then headed South on a narrow Inland Lane a sunken Road Between tall hedgerows. The two rangers were following ruts that had been made by heavy vehicles. Fearful of mines and More enemy patrols Lomell and Kuhn moved More than 200 Yards farther Inland from the Highway. They were a nervous As hell a Lomell said having infiltrated German lines twice in just an hour. Then Lomell suddenly stopped. A i looked Over a High hedgerow and there were the guns in a sort of a Vale swale draw or whatever you Call it in an Apple Orchard completely camouflaged with the five 155 my howitzers were pointed West toward Utah Beach. He had never seen howitzers so big their Long barrels looming skyward. Whispering he excitedly told Kuhn a Jack Here they Are. We be found Mem. Here re the. S4s Vince crawly Ranger Bud Potratz visited Pointe do hoc for the 45th anniversary of a Day. Goddamned ammunition Lay stockpiled All around with fuses in the shells and charges set out nearby. The guns were poised to fire but incredibly were unmanned. In the Corner of a pasture to the West no More than 100 Yards away a group of about 75 germans were gathered around one of their leaders apparently reorganizing and getting briefed on the unravelling situation of the Allied invasion. The guns were untouched. Despite relentless Allied bombing of the Point that included 600 battleship salvos just before the rangers landed Lomell and Kuhn saw no bomb or Shell craters at the actual site of the guns a mile and a half Inland from the empty Concrete emplacements at the Point. A it certainly was pure Luck. We re not special. We know we re pretty Good rangers Are conceited but it was pure Luck a Lomell a t"1 was oni a roa�t0 Tae a Antl we i were behind enemy lines at that time a a a Al and i took this Road through the hedgerows. I just turned up Lucky. Honest to god no special supernatural patrolling methods were used. We were just a couple rangers. We just lucked upon it turned out that the guns probably never had been put in their emplacements on the actual Point. A it does no to take a rocket specialist to figure out Why Lomell said. With the Aerial pounding at the Cliff Side no artillery officer in his right mind would have put his guns there. The cannons were just As effective from two Miles Back ,. a a a a. A a a a Kuhn concealed himself in the Hedges keeping an Eye on the germans while Lomell went to work. Their weapon was something called Hermit grenades. A Little bigger than a Beer can one was carried by each Ranger. A when the pin is pulled a Lomell explained a it turns into White molten heat quietly sizzling until All the moving parts Are welded together.�?�. The germans 75 to 100 Yards away suspected nothing. A amps Vine Craw by Len Lomell was awarded the distinguished service Cross for actions at Pointe do hoc. A he disabled two guns by placing Hermit grenades in the recoil and traversing mechanism of the artillery pieces. Then with no More grenades he wrapped his Field jacket around the butt of his Tommy gun and smashed the aiming sights on the three remaining guns. The whole operation was carried out in silence. An olympic athlete can run the 200-Metcr dash in about 20 seconds. Wounded exhausted loaded Down with weapons and combat gear. A it while artillery and anti aircraft fire screamed All around Lomell says it might have taken them a Little longer than that to get Back to the Ranger Roadblock on the coast Highway running a like scared rabbits on the sunken Lane behind the hedgerows. He and Kuhn took All the Hermit grenades from the dozen men at the Roadblock and raced Back to the guns. I still his Luck held out. The germans remained huddled in their formation a football Field away. With Kuhn standing watch he placed the silent Hermit grenades in the traversing mechanisms and breeches of the three remaining guns welding them to uselessness. Just As Lomell climbed Over the hedgerow rejoining Kuhn at the sunken Lane a tremendous explosion behind him bowled him Over l in thought it might have been a battleship round falling Short. Others think it was an ammo dump being blown by another Ranger party. As he j sprinted Back the Roadblock Lomell did no to look Back to find out. A. A a a a. A More than 13 hours after hitting Omaha Dick Hathaway s Relief patrol had fought its Way five Miles behind enemy lines and arrived at Pointe do hoc with less than two dozen men at 9 p.m., raising the number of men at the Point up to about 90. The rest of the rangers who landed at Omaha stayed there to help keep the infantry from being thrown Back into the sea. More than 300 germans counterattacked through the night and the following Day driving the americans Back against the Cliffs. It was Lomell said a pretty bad Odds for burned out main Relief forces arrived at noon a a june a exactly 48 hours behind schedule. And like everything else that Day Success came As a mixed Blessing. A a a a a a a. A a a a the american tanks mistook the rangers lot enemy troops. Hathaway ran into a Bunker for cover. A a Shell came in the rear door right by my face like a blow Torch a he said. Some mis dropped paratroopers had straggled in earlier to help defend the Point and one of them raised an american Flag. The american tank shot the Flag away. A a a motor officer with 2nd Ranger in went up to one of the tanks and told a Al i them a you re firing on our people a a Hathaway recalled. A ooh no a the Tanker responded. �?o1 hear German a of course we were using German weapons a a Hathaway said. The american ammunition had run out the first Day. The motor officer he said took his .45 out aimed it at the Tanker and said Quot you Stop firing or ill blow your head and so the rangers were hard Way. Ted Lapres the lieutenant from easy company was Down to 19 men out of 68 when the Relief forces arrived. A i can to say too much about the men in our outfit a he said. A i knew that if i were injured my men did no to need me to Lead the Way. They were a Tough group. They did the Job that they had to do and did it and he said a i still remember my prayers for the rangers who june 6, 1994 a stars and stripes commemorative edition 55
