In Remembrance

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Sixty-four years ago today, on one single day, ten-thousand allied soldiers lost their lives in one of the greatest military undertakings in human history. Those of us who did not participate in the D-Day invasion of Normandy cannot imagine what it was like to make a frontal assault on Adolph Hitler’s Atlantic wall; most people do not even realize how difficult an amphibious invasion is. Few can imagine the murderous fire upon airborne troops as they descended into German-held territory. It is only through recreations such as Saving Private Ryan and The Longest Day, or actual combat photography seen on The History Channel that gives us an inkling of what these valiant men experienced.

The operation was massive, involving American, British, and Canadian forces and the navies of eight separate countries. Today, I would like to acknowledge the participation of the following military organizations, and encourage my readers that if they know a surviving veteran from this great campaign, please contact them and thank them for their sacrifices.

Participating Units (British)

British 6th Airborne Division

British 3rd Infantry Division

British 27th Armoured Brigade

British 50th Infantry Division

British 8th Armoured Brigade

British 79th Armoured Division

Canadian 3rd Infantry Division

Canadian 2nd Armoured Brigade

RAF 2nd Tactical Air Force
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Coastal Command

Participating Units (American)

U.S. 1st Infantry Division

U.S. 29th Infantry Division.

U.S. 4th Infantry Division.

U.S. 101st Airborne Division

U.S. 82nd Airborne Division.

8th Army Air Force

9th Army Air Force

The Invasion Fleet was drawn from eight different navies, comprising 6,939 vessels: 1,213 warships, 4,126 transport vessels (landing ships and landing craft), and 736 ancillary craft and 864 merchant vessels; losses included warships and 35 merchantmen or auxiliaries sunk, and a further 120 vessels damaged. The United States Coast Guard participated in the invasion of Normandy with 100 ships, most of which were dedicated to life-saving operations.

By the end of July, 1944 the Battle of Normandy resulted in over 209,000 Allied troops were killed, wounded or declared missing, with an additional 16,714 deaths among the Allied air forces.

Some gave all . . . all gave some. Every one of the participants deserve our remembrance.

Robin Hood Defense

In the days before military lawyers took control of the armed forces, it was normal procedure to detail regular officers of the line as defense and prosecuting counsel at courts-martial. This was not a problem back then because in most cases, servicemen charged with violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice were guilty as hell. In the case of AWOL, a prosecuting officer only needed to demonstrate that the charged serviceman had a duty to be present at a certain location, and that in fact he was not present at that location and was therefore absent from duty without authority.

Officers serving as defense counsel were more or less confined to demonstrating that the serviceman, while absent without authority, had a good reason for his absence. For example, his car broke down preventing him from returning to base after weekend liberty, or he was absent because his wife went into labor, preventing the man from being on duty when required.

Naturally, there are a thousand excuses for why servicemen violate the UCMJ. Whether the court-martial board sympathized with the accused depended on the facts of the case. A serviceman might gain understanding or the benefit of the doubt by the court-martial board if he was absent because his wife was having a baby, but even then it was likely the serviceman would receive a “suspended” reduction to the next lowest grade. Of course, an accused received less sympathy if he was drunk on duty, or assaulted an NCO or officer. I remember a Marine charged with insubordination because he called his officer-in-charge a son of a bitch. At a summary court martial, the accused proved that the officer was in fact illegitimate, but the court ruled that the truth did not invalidate his insubordination.

Since World War II, the Army has always been a kind of one-stop shopping center for scrounging Marines. The only possible explanation for this is that the Army has so much of everything a Marine could ever want. Clearly, the Army is just asking Marines to take an active interest in their inventory. The large logistics support bases located on Okinawa gave Marines plenty of opportunity to help themselves to Army equipment, but even this did not cause the Army to pay greater attention to internal security. In 1966, for example, a massive Army crane turned up missing from their base at Sukuran. Everyone knew Marines stole the damn thing, but no one could imagine how they did it, or what they did with it; the crane was never located. According to rumor, however, the Marines dismantled this behemoth and shipped it off island. Of course, this is merely speculation, and many people think Marines aren’t that clever. Still, the tendency of Army quartermasters to under-estimate Marines is as historic as Marines who routinely help themselves to Army inventory.

A few years later, Army criminal investigators apprehended five motor transport Marines for stealing one of the Army’s 2 ½ ton trucks, commonly referred to as a six-by. Charges were preferred, an officer detailed to defend them at a Special Court Martial, and a trial date was set. When the court-martial convened, the accused Marines appeared perfectly attired, as one might see on a recruiting poster. The Judge Advocate was a lieutenant colonel, the president of the court was a major, and the balance of the court consisted of company grade officers, all Marines with the exception of one Navy lieutenant Junior-Grade.

From the very moment the court convened, the Marines knew they were in serious trouble because the evidence presented by Army CID was quite damning. For example, testimony confirmed the truck was located in a Marine Corps repair shop; that all Army identification numbers removed; a fraudulent vehicle maintenance log created; and that when CID investigators apprehended these Marines, the truck had all new serial numbers that did not match any USMC inventory, and that it was half-painted in Marine Corps Green. The accused did not feel bolstered in their defense when their counsel (a Marine first lieutenant) decided not to cross-examine any prosecution witnesses. The court-martial adjourned for lunch when prosecution rested its case.

During the afternoon session, the defense officer presented character witnesses; naturally, all defense witnesses testified that the Marines were above average performers, had only minor infractions, and of course, every witness exhibited surprise that any of their Marines could be engaged in stealing from the Army. Having exhausted his witnesses, the defense rested his case and the court directed submission of final arguments. The prosecution’s closing argument took about fifteen minutes; by the time he concluded his summation, the Marines were wondering about the weather in Portsmouth New Hampshire.

The defense officer was an infantry officer, a former NCO, the recipient of a temporary combat commission. His ex-enlisted status explains his somewhat cocky yet polite demeanor. He began his final argument with an acknowledgement of the great job the Army CID had done investigating the case, and he complimented the prosecution on his well-presented evidence. “Gentlemen, I have to say that all in all, it looks grim for my clients. On the other hand, this case does present the board an opportunity for introspection. We heard the testimony of the defendant’s office-in-charge and his NCOIC; they told us these Marines were hard-working, dependable Marines. Can we ask any more of them that that? Then, I would ask the Board to consider whether it fair that the Army is so well equipped with new material, while the Marines, who are responsible for half of this nation’s fighting, are perpetually equipped with leftovers from World War II, or that two thirds of our entire inventory continually leaks some kind of fluid. I would like to remind the Court that it was weeks before the Army even realized one of its very large trucks was missing. I can understand that . . . they have so many. Finally, given all the materials the Army has lying around unattended, I would ask the Court to consider whether it is fundamentally wrong for Marines to steal from the Army. Thank you for your time, gentlemen.” With that, the lieutenant sat down. One could have heard a pin drop in the courtroom for a long moment.

Having received final arguments, the court-martial board adjourned to decide the case. Thirty minutes later, the court reconvened and pronounced the Marines acquitted of all charges, but directed the prosecuting officer to ensure the return of the truck to Army control. I believe this particular case gave rise to the so-called “Robin Hood Defense.”

The reader should make no mistake; justice was served in this case because (to my knowledge) the accused were never in trouble again. On the other hand, I supposed it is also possible these Marines, having learned an important lesson, simply escaped future detection.