2013-Issue 4

Six Are Buried in Normandy“At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,

we will remember them.”by J. Bolling Williamson ’60, Contributing Writer

Of the 183 alumni who died in WWII in service to their country, six are buried in France at the National Cemetery in Nor-mandy. In light of the upcoming 70th an-niversary in 2014 of the D-Day landings, it seems appropriate to recognize the sacrifices made by these men who died in the invasion and the campaigns im-mediately following. Their stories follow:

The Initial Landings

Lt. Freeling T. Colt ’38, USAUnder a bright moon at 0100 on June

6, 1944, Lt. Freeling T. Colt ’38 and the other paratroopers in the 101st Airborne Division boarded airplanes and took off from England. Approaching the coast of France, the planes encountered a heavy fog bank and then anti-aircraft fire. The pilots took evasive action which broke the formations and scat-tered the planes. Consequently, when the men jumped, they were dispersed over a wide area, and most of them landed far away from their designated drop zones. A number of them drowned when they landed in fields that had been flooded by the Ger-mans – a fact that had not been detected in the aerial photographs, because the grasses had grown above the level of the water. Individually and in small groups, the paratroopers attempted to overcome these problems and accomplish their missions. One of the objectives of Colt’s unit, the 506th Regiment, was to clear an exit route off Utah Beach for the troops that would be landing later that morn-ing. The town of Ste. Marie du Mont was astride that route; it was heavily defended, and Colt was killed on June 6th in the action to take it.

Lt. Benjamin R. Kearfott ’43At 0430 on June 6, 1944, Lt. Benjamin

R. Kearfott ’43 and approximately 200 men of Company A, 116th Regiment, disembarked from their ship into seven landing craft and began the two-hour

trip to the beach. Comprised of Virginia National Guard troops – many of whom were from Bedford, Virginia – these men were scheduled to be the first to land in France that morning. Rough seas made it difficult for the boats to maintain for-mation. Many of the men bailed water with their helmets to keep their landing craft afloat; one of the boats foundered. The remainder pressed on, and the boats finally grounded but in water that varied between waist-deep to over a man’s head. The ramps dropped, and as if this was a signal, German machine guns immedi-

ately opened up from both ends of the beach, sweeping across the lines of floundering men in a deadly crossing fire. Some of the men sank and drowned; most of those who managed to get ashore were cut down. Kearfott landed in a boat with 29 other men. All were im-mediately killed, either by the cross-fire or from a direct hit by a shell. Precisely what hap-pened to the men in that boat

will never be known. In short order, all of the officers and non-commissioned officers were casualties, and in a span of less than 10 minutes, Company A virtu-ally ceased to exist. (Editor’s Note: We could not locate a photo of Kearfott.)

After the Landings

In the days following the landings, more men and equip-ment poured ashore, and the effort shifted from establishing a beachhead to penetrating the German lines and moving inland. For many of the units, this was their first combat, and their introduction was made worse by the fact that they had not anticipated the challenges presented by the hedgerows: thick high hedges – many with narrow lanes sunken between them – which broke up the country-side into small meadows and fields of an acre or less. The French term was

“bocage” which roughly translates as “box country.” The hedges provided natural fortifications to the defending Germans, and progress was painfully slow: a squad of infantry might have to cross 30 of these “boxes” in order to gain one mile. An Army survey found that dur-ing the period of June 6-July 31, 1944, casualties in many of the infantry units exceeded 60 percent.

After six costly and frustrating weeks of fighting, the American command mounted “Operation Cobra” on July 25th: a major offensive preceded by a massive aerial bombing campaign intended to literally blast a path in the German lines through which the troops could pass.

Capt. Dan J. Morton ’41

A member of the 2nd Armored Division, Capt. Dan J. Morton ’41 came ashore at Normandy on June 9, 1944. His unit sup-ported elements of the 101st Airborne in repelling a German counterattack. It then continued general offensive operations, attempting to break out of Normandy and move inland. While participating in Operation Cobra on July 28th, Morton’s unit was moving up behind the lead vehicles near the town of Vaillebauden, when the column was suddenly cut by four German tanks attacking from the flank. Morton dismounted promptly from

his vehicle and, assuming com-mand of two light tanks, moved to intercept the Germans. His tank received a direct hit, and he was killed. He was awarded the Silver Star posthumously, and the citation made mention of the commendable example he set, noting that, as the S-2, he was not required to be in the forward element of the column nor expected to operate a tank.

Capt. Sydney A. Vincent Jr. ’40The 803rd Tank Destroyer Battalion

with Capt. Sydney A. Vincent Jr. ’40 landed in Normandy a week after D-Day, and on July 18th, he and his troops were supporting an infantry battalion on the

‘38 Colt

’41 Morton

VMI ALUMNI REVIEW

A U.S. M-10 tank destroyer stood mute after being knocked out. At left is a restaurant that was the command post of the 1st Battalion 115th Regiment under Maj. Glover Johns ’31. The tank destroyer was commanded by Capt. Sydney Vincent ’40 of B Company, 803rd Tank Destroyer Battalion and was knocked out by a single 88m hit, which also caused damage to the command post.

outskirts of the town of St. Lo. After observing an American tank shooting unsuccessfully at a suspected German observation post, Vin-cent approached the battalion commander – who happened to be Maj. Glover S. Johns ’31 – and was given permission to “take a crack at it.” He moved his tank destroyer – a large tracked vehicle with a slightly heavier gun than the tank – out from behind the protection of a building into the open street and snapped off a shot which was immediately answered by a German 88m shell. After an exchange of several more rounds, the German 88 disabled Vincent’s vehicle and put a hole in the wall of Maj. Johns’ command post. Vin-cent and his crew were unhurt. However, the Germans then called in mortars, and he was fatally wounded. He was awarded the Silver Star posthumously.

Capt. Harold C. Sheffey ’37

Capt. Harold C. Sheffey ’37 came ashore with the 83rd Infantry Division on June

21, 1944, relieving elements of the 101st Airborne which

were then locked up with crack German Waffen-SS and para-troops in the Caren-tan sector. Holding this city was vital to the success of the in-vasion: the Germans had already mounted one counterattack which had almost retaken the town, and the Americans readied an offensive that would

consolidate and expand their positions. The terrain favored the German defend-ers, who extracted a heavy toll on the Americans as they pushed ahead. Shef-fey was killed on July 16th as his unit engaged the Germans on the outskirts of the village of Carentan.

Maj. Alexander C. Newton ’31Maj. Alexander C. Newton ’31 landed

with the 4th Armored Division on July 11, 1944, and immediately moved to support offensive operations to punch through the German defenses. Newton served as

’40 Vincent

’37 Sheffey

the S-2 and assistant S-3 and participated in the planning of Operation Cobra. On the third day of the operation, units of the 4th Armored Division met heavy resistance advancing on the town of Coutances, and Newton was killed in that ac-tion on July 29th. (Editor’s Note: We could not locate a photo of Newton.)

The Final Resting Place at Normandy

Situated on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach and the English Channel, the American Cemetery at Normandy con-sists of 172 acres which have been grant-ed by France in a perpetual concession to the United States. This is the final resting place of almost 9,400 American soldiers, most of whom were killed during the landings and the ensuing campaigns in France. The rows of white marble crosses and Stars of David are arranged with geometric precision. Each is anchored in such a way that it will never tilt or lean, and each marker has the individual’s

2013-Issue 4

Of the 183 VMI alumni who died in WWII in service to their country, six are buried in France at the National Cemetery in Normandy.

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France is located on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established on June 8, 1944, and is the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II.

The cemetery site covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations.

name, rank, unit, home state and date of death engraved on the side which faces west – across the beach where many of them died, toward America and home.

Alexander C. Newton ’31 Plot C, Row 24, Grave 42 Harold C. Sheffey ’37Plot C, Row 25, Grave 23 Freeling T. Colt ’38Plot D, Row 22, Grave 26

Sydney A. Vincent Jr. ’40Plot G, Row 20, Grave 32

Dan J. Morton ’41Plot G, Row 15, Grave 34

Benjamin R. Kearfott ’43 Plot I, Row 11, Grave 30

References:

• Normandy, Hammond, William H.; U.S. Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 72-18

• D-Day: 24 Hours That Saved the World, The Editors of Time-Life, 2004

• The Clay Pigeons of St. Lo, Johns, Glover S. Jr., The Military Service Publishing Co., 1958

• U.S. Army unit websites: - 116th Infantry Regiment - 803rd Tank Destroyer Regiment - 83rd Infantry Division - 101st Airborne Division - 501st Infantry Parachute Regiment - 4th Armored Division • VMI Archives

They were staunch to the end

against odds uncounted.

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall not grow old,

as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them,

nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun,

and in the morning,

We will remember them.

“For the Fallen” by Laurence Binyon