Fort Meade VA Doctor Wrote D-Day Diary: June 6, 1944
While Rapid City’s Wayne Brewster was fighting his way ashore on Omaha Beach (see photo), 4th Infantry Division battalion surgeon Capt. Walter E. Marchand was doing the same on Utah Beach. Marchand eventually became a doctor at the Fort Meade VA Hospital in Sturgis, South Dakota, where he worked with noted physicians who served during World War II: Eji Suyama and Harland Hermann.
Marchand kept a diary of the days surrounding the D-Day experience, from January 29 to July 17 in 1944. An entry for D-Day–June 6, 1944–allows a first-person sense of what it like for one man who was there when the Allies attempted to take back Fortress Europa:
D day is here! – D day has begun, how will it end?
We are now close to the German held coast of France – all is unbelievably quiet, but it isn’t for long. At about 1 A.M. I hear a low sounding drone – I go on deck and here I see plane upon plane flying over our ship toward the hostile shore, towing gliders – these are the Paratroopers and Airborne Infantry – I wish them God’s speed and wish them well, for as I am watching the first planes are over the Atlantic Wall I see tremendous flares go up and great quantity of anti-aircraft fire and flak. God what great numbers of planes there are, and all ours. To our right – toward the Barfleur Peninsula area our Bombers are wreaking havoc on some coastal installations, we can hear the detonations clearly. In the midst of this, the little Cavalry C.T. is preparing to debark and to take St. Marcouf island – this is at H minus 4 hours. At this time also, the C47s are returning from France – flying home after letting go of their gliders or human cargo.
First personal account I have ever read to the lead up and first month of Operation Overlord. Thanks, might have wished for more, but length was just about right.