Veteran's Day 2024

Veteran’s Day 2024

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

I know I’m late on this, but it still is important during Veteran’s week.  Every morning, I don my Army Baseball cap and walk our golden retriever, Libby, on a half mile or so loop that runs directly in front of our house. 

It is a slow walk, as Libby gets all the sniffs she wants.  In a way, it is a great way to start my day before beginning to work on our travel business—the hat reminds me to uphold the principles I learned as a 20-year officer veteran in our everyday life and dealings with the folks we help or come in contact with during the course of each day.

My ‘71 Professionally Done baseball cap I wear every morning on my walk with Libby, I also wear it to Army Football Games and during our annual Scottish festival in Estes Park, Colorado

It is my subtle way of reinforcing what it means to be a veteran and how it changed my life.  Along with making me a better person, with high standards, it has helped me be a better travel advisor.

The Military Experience

There are really no excuses in the military—our job is to defend our nation against all threats.  The challenges are real—we always seem to be tired, miserable due to being too hot, too cold, too wet (you can add any adverse weather here), hungry and physically and mentally exhausted but somehow, we love it!  A cool way to say this that always stuck with me was, “when you’re up to your neck with alligators, it’s hard to remember the mission is to drain the swamp!” 

Most of us are mentally and physically tough and we bolster ourselves by mottos like “The only easy day was yesterday”; “Rangers lead the way”; “Light, Silent and Deadly—Masters of the Night” (the 7th Infantry Light Division Moto); “No Slack” (my company moto of B Company 4/20 Inf which I commanded in Panama) and we take pride in doing what others won’t or can’t do.  There always seemed we could do something better and needed to strive to get the job done regardless of the circumstances.

A gift from my soldiers of B 4/20 Infantry after the change of command ceremony. It is part of the old Panama Rail Road Ties with a spike used to hold the rails in place. The men added my captain rank, airborne wings, ranger tab and Expert Infantry Man’s Badge as a reminder of our service together. It sits proudly on my dest now

Yes, veterans are different—the mission required us to work as a team regardless of where we came from, our race or creed—we were molded into the finest military in the world.  We became better because of our training, our experiences, and the demands of our profession.

I think it is fair to say, most of us used our military training and experiences to make America a better country whether serving on active duty, the reserves or as civilians after our military service.

A Changing Military

I served from 1971 to 1991.  I was commissioned a 2LT during the Vietnam War which was winding down by the time I finished my Infantry officer basic course, airborne school and ranger school.  I reported to my first unit in February 1972 after my training was completed.  We still had a draft but now have an all-volunteer army.  By the time I left active duty, we were in the Gulf War.  I retired as a Major in 1991.

Just to let you know, as a percentage of our population in 1971 when I was commissioned as a 2LT, that had military experience was a little over 13% of the total population.  Over 75% of the members of congress were veterans in 1971. 

Today, it is less than 1% of our US population. About only 13% of congressional members have military experience.

Some of this is due to a reduced size of the military, but the great lessons and experiences we were exposed to the military are sadly lost on our country’s leaders and population just due to the dwindling numbers who have military service in their work history today.

A Grim Reminder of the Cost of Our Wars (from WW I to Present)

While much is gained by being a member of our Armed Forces, the sacrifice and suffering to individual service members is very real when we get embroiled in wars.

From WW II until the present, either a family member or some of my 1971 classmates have served during every one of these conflicts.  So not only are they a grim reminder, but they are also very personal to me.  They will never be cold, hard statistics.

To learn more, I went out to the VA website and found out about the costs of the major conflicts from WW I until today.  You might be stunned by the statistics—I was.

WORLD WAR I (1917 - 1918)

·         Total Forces................................4,734,991

·         Battle Deaths...............53,402

·         Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater).................63,114

·         Wounded..............................204,002

WORLD WAR II (1941 - 1945)

·         Total Forces.............16,112,56

Battle Deaths.........................291,55

Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater)..........113,842

· Wounded..............................670,846

KOREAN WAR (1950 - 1953)

·         Total Forces........5,720,000

·         Battle Deaths.............33,739

·         Other Deaths (in Theater)...............2,835

·         Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater)........17,672

·         Wounded...............................103,284

VIETNAM WAR (1964 - 1975)

·         Total Forces..................8,744,000

·         Battle Deaths..............47,434

·         Other Deaths (in Theater)....................10,786

·         Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater)......32,000

·         Wounded.............................153,303

GULF WAR (1990 - 1991)

·         Total Forces...........2,225,000

·         Battle Deaths...................148

·         Other Deaths (in Theater)............................235

·         Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater)......1,565

·         Wounded.................467

Iraq War (2003 - 2011)

·         Total Forces.........................192,000

·         Killed ........................4,507

·         Wounded......................... 32,242

Afghanistan War (2001 - 2021)

·         Total Forces.......................800,000 +

·         Killed .......l......................2,461

·         Wounded..............................20,698

My Final Thoughts

Perhaps this will make you think a little about the men and women who defend our country.  You should be proud of their dedication and sacrifice.  I am! 

Also, please recognize they allow us to “enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” without fear of an invasion by our enemies.

There was a cost to secure these blessings.  Sometimes it just takes cold hard numbers to help you realize how much our service members have to endure to defend our country. 

Just remember, they all had families and to them they were not just numbers. 

May we never forget what they did for us and our way of life.

Thank you to all Veterans—Thanks for defending our Country—We are proud and humbled by your service, dedication to our country and your sacrifice!

Henry Carl “Hank” Schrader, Jr

Maj (ret) Infantry

Hank In Panama, before the start of an officer training exercise.

Omaha and Utah Beaches 6 June 1944

Omaha and Utah Beaches 6 June 1944

By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

I first published this in 2020. With the 80th Anniversary of that horrible day which changed history, and so many suvivors who will sadly not be here much longer, I hope this is a fitting tribute to those brave souls who helped liberate Europe. May we never forget!

In November 1943, the Big Three (Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill) agreed in a conference in Tehran, that the Allied Western Forces of the United States and Britain would invade France in 1944 and open a second front against the German Fortress Europe. 

The clock was now ticking for the D Day invasion of France.  It was a race between German defenders and the Allied invasion force.

The ideal strategy was simple for the planners of the D Day amphibious invasion—attack lightly defended beaches, secure the beach, and move men and supplies quickly inland.  Next, establish or capture a port quickly to reinforce with more men and supplies.  Then, defeat the German forces and win the war.

Executing it proved to be one of the most difficult military tasks every attempted. 

During the massive planning operations, Pas du Calais (the most favorable landing site) and Normandy were under consideration.  Both had enough good characteristics to work for an amphibious landing.  But Normandy was the best choice for two reasons. There were: 1) in 1943 it was a lightly defended part of the German Atlantic Wall and 2) the Germans anticipated an attack at Pas du Calais and fortified it and constantly moved more soldiers into defensive positions. 

The German Defenders

The Germans realized they weren’t prepared to properly defend the vast Atlantic Wall in 1943.  The German commander, General Gerd von Rundstedt, drafted a report to Hitler about the scant fortifications and poor quality units defending the area.  Hitler responded by adding General Erwin Rommel (known popularly as the “Desert Fox” for his Africa campaign) to oversee improving the defenses.

The Germans knew an invasion was coming—they just didn’t know where or when.  The choice that the Germans believed the Allies would select was an invasion of Pas de Calais, as it was the most logical invasion site—only 20 miles from England and had 20 miles of good landing beaches.  The allies bolstered that illusion by creating a fake force under the command of LTG George Patton, complete with fake equipment, field barracks and even a docking area near Dover.  They relentlessly bombed the Calais area in the build-up phase, as well as other targets in France.  In an unusual operation, they also dropped dummies by parachutes, to harass and confuse the Germans. 

Dummy Paratrooper on display in the Caen Memorial Museum

Field Marshal Rommel was also convinced Calais was the prime invasion site and deployed the 208,000 man 15th Army to defend this area.  The deception plan of D Day was working as hoped for the Allies.

The first priority for the Germans was protecting the major harbors, as any invading forces would need constant supplies, more men and equipment. 

After securing these major ports, they then began building “Widerstandnesten” (resistance nests) along the beaches.  These were a series of pillboxes, gun positions, anti-aircraft weapons and trenches.  The beaches were littered with obstacles, mines (over 4 million mines) to enhance these resistance nests.  Inland, flooded lowlands and stakes were planted in the ground to cut into gliders during landings and make possible airborne landing zones potential death traps.

A key concept for the Germans was to stop the invasion on the beaches, so all defensive resources were placed at or near the beach areas and no defense in depth was planned.  There were reserve units to stop breakthroughs but the best reserve unit of panzer tanks could only be released by Hitler.  If the Allies could breach these tough defenses, and cut off the reserve forces, they had a good chance of success.

By June 1944 all the beaches used for the D Day landings in Normandy had at least some of these defensive measures in places. 

Unknown to the allies, the best defended beach in Normandy was Omaha.

The stage was set for that fateful day 6 June 1944.

Concept of the Overlord Operation

You might be surprised to know the last successful armed assault across the English Channel happened in 1066 (yes, the famous Battle of Hastings).  8 centuries later, this was about to change.

Amphibious landings are complex operations.  Trying to attack with 5 divisions over a 50 mile front in Normandy from a base in England would require naval forces, air forces and army units from British, Canadian and American forces.  The allied armies and massive equipment needed to ensure success only added to the complexity.  150,000 soldiers would be required, with a fleet of 5,333 ships and an air armada of over 12,921 planes.

Synchronizing an operation of this size remains one of the most amazing military feats in the history of the world.

An Overview of the Invasion

Overview of the D Day Invasion Plan Portsmouth D Day Museum 2014

Operation Overlord, the code name for the D Day invasion, was a complicated multipart attack.  To soften up and destroy some of the defending German forces, the area was bombed for about 6 weeks prior to the invasion.  On the early morning hours of 6 June 1944, American and British paratroopers parachuted and later landed in gliders to secure the western flank (American forces) and the eastern flank (British forces).  Then, prior to the start the landings, a naval bombardment of about 30 minutes in duration started, followed by an aerial bombardment.  Next, the amphibious landings took place on 5 objective beaches. 

The 3 beaches in the British Second Army sector, were Gold, Juno and Sword.  These beaches were attacked by British and Canadian units.

The 2 American beaches, under the U. S. First Army (commanded by Lt. General Omar Bradley), were Omaha and Utah. 

Ike gives the OK to Go! Portsmouth D Day Museum 2014

The rest of this blog is the story of American forces attack on D Day in Normandy on the Omaha and Utah beaches.

Unit Patches from the Attacking American Forces at Utah, Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beaches

Omaha Beach

The Western sector of Omaha Beach. This was taken on our 2014 tour.

Omaha Beach was the objective of the 1st Division (the Big Red One) and the 29th National Gauard Division (the Blue and Gray Division).  On the west of this 4 mile stretch of sand and bluffs, was Pointe du Hoc.  The east limit was the town of Ste.-Honorine-des-Pertes.  The beach was divided into 4 sectors (from west to east)—they were named Charlie, Dog, Easy and Fox. 

A veteran (Charles Norman Shay) from the Big Red One who survived D Day with Hank. His unit crest is from the 16th Infantry Regiment—he was a medic. Hank’s first Army unit was in the 1st of the 18th Infantry of the Big Red One. Taken 3 June 2019. He remained in the Army and retired as an E-8 (Master Sargent). He was awarded the Silver Star (not visible in the picture) for his actions on D Day and the Bronze Star.

The terrain at Omaha was advantageous for the German defenders—bluffs over 100 feet tall, back from 300 yards or more of beach depending upon the tides.  It offered really good fields of fire against any attack.  The best way off Omaha was fighting up the 4 draw exits through the cliffs. 

Part of Omaha Beach as seen from the American Cemetery—these were good defensive positions for the German defenders to engage the American soldiers.

Omaha Beach with a lone naval ship in the background—there were hundreds of naval vessels on 6 June 1944.

Those of us, like me, with military training, instantly recognize the huge terrain advantage the defenders had, when visiting the Omaha beach area.  Properly integrated defensive fire, with adequate numbers of defenders, would make the open area of the beach an instant killing zone, and the draws, if properly defended, would be hard to successfully attack without tanks in support.

American planners believed Omaha was lightly defended—in 1943 it was almost completely undefended.  Rommel quickly upgraded these defenses, but the Allied intelligence reports still reported poor fortifications and an under strength regiment of German defenders.

What the attackers faced at Omaha on 6 June 1944 were 85 machine guns nests, 38 rocket launchers, 35 pill boxes, 18 antitank gun positions, 8 artillery fortified positions, 6 mortar pits, and 4 field artillery positions.  These were part of the Widerstandnesten system. 

Machine gun bunker guarding the beach and D-1 Draw. Take during our 2014 tour.

There were 14 Widerstandnesten (Wn) positions in the Omaha sector.  They were numbered Wn 61--Wn 74.  The strongest was Wn 72.  These positions were maned by a battle harden division (3 battalions) of very good soldiers.  If these positions could survive the aerial bombardment and naval gun fire of an attacking force, they stood a good chance of stopping the invasion at the beach.

Wn 72, covering the exit draw D-1 was the best constructed of all of the Widerstandnesten in the Omaha sector.  It protected an 88 mm cannon.  It is now the memorial to the 29th Division.  Here are 2 photos:

Wn 72 Omaha Beach. It protect a 88mm cannon. Photo Hank Schrader

Memorial of the 29th Division, Omaha Beach

When the first soldiers hit the beach, the beach erupted into withering fire from all directions—it was utter chaos! 

Success at Omaha was still in doubt 6 hours after the attack begin.

The chaotic battlefield resulted in over 2,000-2,500 men killed, wounded or missing at Omaha—no one is really sure due the confusion and carnage of this intense battle site.

The plan was for the bombers to destroy as many as possible of the defensive positions and soldiers defending this area (part 1) and then naval gun fire would take out many of the remaining defensive positions (part 2).  Despite dropping around 13,000 bombs, almost all were off target, too far inland.  As the invasion force neared the coast, thick smoke and fog obscure the bluffs ahead, but the naval gunners opened fire.  Bright flashes and horrible noise arose from the assault area.  Soldiers were confident as they approached the beach area. With all the explosions, they expected most defenders were killed.  That would soon change.

The first wave of 1,450 soldiers landed from 35 landing crafts.  The beach was only wide enough to support two regimental size units.  On the western sector, the 116th Regiment of the 29th Division landed; on the eastern sector the 16th Regiment of the 1st Division hit the beach.  They were immediately engaged by the Germans.  The defensive fire was devastating, and accurate, as it was delivered from very well designed defensive positions.  In less than 5 minutes, 90% of the first wave were killed or wounded. 

Sculpture on Omaha Beach, from our 2014 tour.

They were unsupported by tanks for the most part.  112 tanks were available for the attack in the Omaha objective area.  64 were released to swim on their own at 0300.  Many of these tanks sank.  Of the 56 tanks allocated to the Big Red One sector, only 13 made it ashore.  A total of 58 tanks reached the Omaha beaches during the attack; by 0700 14 were destroyed.  By the end of the day only 3 tanks were operational.  Here is a picture of an amphibious tank outfitted to swim ashore:

Tank outfitted to swim. From our 2019 tour. Photo Hank Schrader

On the beach, 270 desperate engineer soldiers were trying to open 16 pathways for the tanks to get off the beach from the obstacles.  They had 27 minutes to achieve their mission according to the plan; only 1 pathway is opened on time.  Most of the engineers are dead or wounded by the end of their 27 minute first mission.

The landing waves continued.  Rifle and machinegun bullets constantly flew around; mortar and artillery shells rained down; explosions, screams, destroyed and abandoned equipment and vehicles litter the beaches (especially the destroyed burning tanks); and confusion was everywhere.  The only reasons most survived was there was just too many of them for the Germans to shoot everyone and the heavy smoke that offered some concealment to the exposed soldiers.

Without tank support, the original plan to take the heavily fortified draws was not a good option for soldiers only armed with light weapons.

At 0730, several hundred surviving soldiers were huddled against the seawall, and the outlook was bleak.  Most of their leaders had been killed or wounded. 

In the west, Brigadier General Norman “Dutch” Cota, assistant division commander of the 29th Division, landed in the second wave and sprinted to the wall around 0730.  As he rallied the soldiers, he realized going up the draws, according to the original plan wouldn’t work.  The only good option was to climb the less defended bluffs.  He would be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his superb leadership and personal bravery for rallying the disorgananized soldiers pinned down on Omaha Beach.

He found a group of rangers, led by LTC Max Schneider (commander of the 5th Ranger Battalion) and told them of his plan and then yelled out “Rangers Lead the Way”, which has become the official ranger moto.  Within an hour, the rangers and soldiers from the 29th reached the top.  The German defenses were oriented to the sea and Cota’s growing band of soldiers captured the Vierville draw (D-1) about 2 hours later by attacking them from their rear.  It took the engineer soldiers 8 hours to clear the Vierville draw of mines and other obstacles.

The beach head was still an intense killing zone at about 0830.  Several thousand soldiers were stranded and easy targets for the Germans.  A frustrated destroyer skipper (Lt. Commander Ralph Ramey), defied his orders, steamed his destroyed as close as possible and began to blast the cliffs with his 5 inch guns.  Soon, all the other destroyers followed.  Within 30 minutes, they had destroyed 6 gun emplacements.  The tide was turning.  With less effective fire raining down on the trapped men, leaders began moving soldiers up the bluffs and into the draws.  The crowded beaches were slowly clearing.

With men still vulnerable on the beach, and landing craft prohibited from landed more soldiers as there was no space, soldiers were trying to fight their way off the killing zone. In 2 hours of intense fighting, by 1100, the beach started to clear up as the men were making progress against the Germans.  Some landing craft commanders again defied orders and started to land more troops.  These soldiers and equipment were still under fire, but it was not as intense as at 0630.  The reinforcements help rally all in harm’s way--momentum now was on the American side.

By 1300, Gen. Bradley, who had considered abandoning Omaha and land the remaining soldiers at Utah, received a message that troops who had been previously pinned down on the beach were moving up the heights behind the beach area.  Victory now seemed possible.

3 hours later, the Colleville Draw was in American hands.  Now three of the four draws were under American control.  Not until about 2000, would the 4th draw, Les Moulins, be captured.

The stone marker is the site of the first American Cemetery established directly on the Omaha Beaches. The buried here were later moved to the larger American Cemetery.

The Americans had won at Omaha.  The unrealistic plan had called for the assaulting soldiers to capture the draw exits and bluffs by H+2 (0830).  It had taken all day, but they had captured the beachhead and high ground and pushed inland in some sectors.

Les Braves sculpture Omaha Beach 2019.

Omaha Beach Monument. This is on the Les Moulins Draw.

In 2014, Anne took this picture during a fly over the American Cemetery. This is a type of plane that was used by the American Forces to jump into either Albany or Boston Area of Operations.

The huge cost of victory—the American Cemetery at Omaha

Utah Beach

Utah Beach 2019

Utah Beach sign 2019

The story at Utah was completely different than Omaha.

Utah Beach was the objective of the 4th Infantry Division (Ivy 4).  They were supported by the 82nd Airborne Division (most common nickname is the All American Division) and the 101st Airborne Division (the Screaming Eagles).

There was a 4 part plan at Utah--the strategy here had the added dimension of paratrooper support from the 16,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Divisions.  They were to land after midnight by parachutes and later with gliders (part 1), followed with naval shelling (part 2) and air force bombing support (part 3).  Then the landings by Ivy 4 (part 4). 

The Airborne Assault—Part 1 of the Utah Beach

Part 1 of the plan, the airborne and glider assault, was the largest parachute assault ever attempted up to that time.  The 101st mission code name was Albany; the code name for the 82nd mission was Boston.  The overall mission was to act as a blocking force to help secure the western flank of Utah landing zone; capture the 4 causeway exits; and to establish crossing points over the Douve River to assist the link up of the beachheads of Utah and Omaha. 

A former member of the 82nd Airborne poses with Iron Mike. Iron Mike is a tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives capturing and defending the bridge at La Fiere. It was part of the mission to capture and secure the river crossings during the D Day airborne landings. The original statue is at Ft. Bragg (now renamed Fort Liberty), NC, home of the 82nd Airborne..

The plan was for a night jump of both divisions to be followed up by the gliders. 

A night jump is an amazing experience for many paratroopers—I still remember my first night jump in Ranger school (jump #6—my first after 5 airborne school jumps) but we were dropped at about 2000 feet, and nobody was shooting at me.  The exit height was 700 feet in the D Day airborne assault!  To qualify for the D Day assault, 3 successful jumps was the standard in the training prior to the airborne assault.  Most paratroopers carried 125-150 pounds of equipment into the battle drop zones during the assault.

In 2014, Anne took this picture during a fly over the American Cemetery. This is a type of plane that was used by the American Forces to jump into either Albany or Boston Area of Operations.

Thompson .45 cal. Machine gun and ammo used in the D Day Assault. This is on display in the Airborne Museum in Ste. Marie Eglise, France.

A paratrooper Carbine with its jump case. Most soldiers jumped with their weapons ready instead of using the protective case. Airborne Museum

Paratrooper equipment and uniform on display in the Airborne Museum

Jump plane on display Airborne Museum 2019

The Airborne Forces, though initially scattered (one account I read reported 75% were dropped at the wrong drop zones), performed with great success in one of the most daring behind the lines attacks in the history of warfare to secure their blocking positions.  Some have been critical of their overall success since mission objectives were not achieved in the time frame desired, but this just ignores the fog of war—planners often think more is achievable than realistic when executing on the ground—plans look good on paper until someone starts shooting at you!

There were two reasons for their success, in my opinion.  First, the scattered forces confused the Germans—they could not focus their forces on one single area.  Second, the resolve of the soldiers and their leaders—makeshift units operated to accomplish the mission, when unit cohesion was lost.  Again, the individual fighting spirit of the soldiers to do the job won the day.

It was not easy—after a week of brutal fighting about 2,500 were killed wounded or missing in action from the 2 Airborne Divisions.

The Landing at Utah Beach

At 0550, the Navy opened fire on the beaches of Utah (part 2); shortly thereafter 270 B-26 bombers began extensive bombing raids (part 3).  Although many defensive positions in the beach area survived this onslaught, the defenders (“Russian volunteers“ and older, less able German soldiers) were seriously shaken, and put up little resistance.

Higgins Landing Craft on display at Utah Beach

Sculpture of assault at Utah Beach taken on 5 June 2019

Despite the perceived initial success with the shelling and bombing of the objective area, it looked like initially the landing was not going as planned (part 4).  The actual landing site was wrong for the first wave of landing crafts—3 of the 4 guide boats hit mines and the other landing boats got disoriented.  The planned landing site was off by 1000 meters.

It turns out this lucky mistake put the Americans at a lightly defended portion of Utah, with fewer obstacles, as compared to the more heavily defended planned landing site.  A quick change of plans happened—the Americans took advantage of the poorly defended area and began pushing inland. 

BG Teddy Roosevelt, Jr, assistant division commander, who landed with the first wave on Utah, recognized the error but also quickly realized the poorly defended area was a huge advantage and as we like to say in the military, “seized the initiative”.  He and Col. James Van Fleet, commanding officer of the 8th Regiment, started sending troops inland on route #1 and pushed into the other route causeways as the beachhead expanded.  By 1100 hours, exit causeway route #1 was secure—the soldiers of the 4th had linked up with soldiers of 101st.  Around noon, all 4 causeway exits were secured.

Going inland on causeway #1. This is the Leadership Monument. The WW II Foundation selected Maj. Dick Winters of Easy Company as the symbol of leadership during the D Day Invasion. It was dedicated on 6 June 2012.

For his actions on this day, Roosevelt was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. 

Other factors helped Utah to have the fewest casualties of any of the D Day beaches—fewer than 200 dead, wounded and missing from the amphibious landings.  The navy skippers launched the swimming Sherman tanks closer to the shore than called for in the plan and 28 of the 32 made it ashore.  Their immediate firepower was a critical element of success on Utah.  Also, the engineer units were outstanding.  They quickly breached the obstacles on the beach area and created avenues through the seawalls—men, vehicles and tanks started pouring onto and slowly off the beaches. 

A Sherman Tank on display at Utah Beach

1st Engineer Special Brigade Monument Utah Beach

The rapid success on Utah caused too many soldiers and vehicles landed on the beach with no safe place to go.  Congestion and traffic jams ensued (along with surrendering Germans) and could have proved deadly as many of the mines were not yet cleared, but by noon all was under control.

The beach defenders and defensive positions ultimately was not the major problem for the Utah attackers; it was the exit routes. These flooded fields that restricted movement and offered the Germans easy targets exposed the attacking force, as the attackers were forced to use the 4 exit causeway routes from the beachhead area for their vehicles.  Some luck, determined leaders and resolute soldiers, overcame this dangerous situation.

Utah turned out to be a roaring success.  As the darkness started, around 23,500 troops and 1,700 vehicles had landed.

Sailors Monument Utah Beach

4th Division Memorial Utah Beach

90th Infantry Monument Utah Beach

Lester Holt with Hank Utah Beach 5 June 2019

Our Final Thoughts

D Day was a success but what really stands out to me is the resolve of the soldiers, sailors and airmen who made the operation work.  Heroic, innovative and resourceful, these military forces should be honored for their deeds.  They did not really see themselves as heroes--most just wanted to live to see 7 June 1944. 

The war’s end would not come for 336 days of more combat.  It would have never happened so soon, if these forces had not taken the first step on 6 June 1944 that ultimately ended the German occupation of Europe.

We have led two tours in Normandy in 2014 and 2019 and those experiences have made this operation much more real for me.  We owe a debt of gratitude to these folks—their sacrifice and courage will stay with me for the rest of my life. 

If you have never been to Normandy and seen the D Day Beaches, I would encourage you to go.

We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise experts, and Europe destination experts.  We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe.  We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you.  We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.  As you can see, our full service agency can get you to almost anywhere you desire to travel and provide you a great experience and vacation.

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Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you!  We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel.  Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com.  We want to help you:  Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations!  Your journey begins here!

 ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management.  Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 26 years’ experience in the travel industry.  Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA.  Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations.  She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors.  An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.

HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 48+ years.  He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA).  This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years.  He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees.  His other Certifications:

• AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist

• Viking River Cruise Specialist

• Scenic River Cruise Specialist

• Emerald Waterways Specialist

• Avalon Waterways Specialist

• Brit Agent

Tagged: Dream Destinations, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, 6 June 1944

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Pointe du Hoc--Rangers Lead the Way!

Pointe du Hoc--Rangers Lead the Way

By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

I wrote this in 2020 but felt it was time to revise it with the 80th Anniversary of D Day coming on 6 June 2024. Having led 2 tours during the 70th and 75th Anniversary of D Day, it probably will be the last time any survivors of that fateful day can visit this amazing site. It is our tribute to their valor and resolve—we will never forget!

The crossing was rough—the weather was stormy and the seas were not kind to the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions.  Most could not get any sleep, as the dread of an upcoming mission along with the rough seas made them restless.  It is always that way before critical missions—no amount of training and preparation could ease their minds—they were going Pointe du Hoc to destroy an artillery battery on the top of a 100 foot cliff.

The capture of Pointe du Hoc was considered critical to the overall invasion plan.  It was clearly one of the most dangerous areas of Normandy—high ground with good fields of fire and hard to capture during a raid.  The 155 mm cannons could fire upon the landing zones of Utah and Omaha with devastating effect on the invading force.  It had to be neutralized.

Pointe du Hoc was defended by elements of the 716th and 352d Infantry Divisions, along with artillerymen--it became a heavily fortified bastion for the Wehrmacht as part of the Atlantic Wall.  Approximately 200+ German troops (125 infantry and 85 artillery men) were garrisoned in or around the Pointe du Hoc position.

Site Map Pointe du Hoc

The rangers had to take this defensive area or the whole D Day mission might fail.

This is the story of the Ranger mission during the D Day battle.

An Obstacle too Difficult to Take from the Sea

The Pointe du Hoc cliffs were considered too difficult to scale under combat conditions.  This point of view was firmly held by the Germans.  And, not surprisingly, most American military commanders also thought it was a suicide mission. 

A good view of Pointe du Hoc. From our 2019 Tour.

The east side of Pointe du Hoc where the rangers landed on 6 June 1944

Yet, it was vital to the success of the overall invasion scheme.  The 100 foot cliffs were almost 90 degrees from the base to the top.

The sheer cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. Notice the narrow landing area. It is easy to understand why the Germans believed it was not feasible to attack from the sea. This is from our 2014 tour.

The Germans planned the defense on the land bridge of Pointe du Hoc facing away from the sea by concentrating their forces for an inland assault.  They developed a defensive position consisting of heavily fortified concrete casements interlaced with tunnels, trenches, and machine-gun positions around the perimeter.

The Germans lightly defended the approach from the sea—they though it would be easy to stop invaders trying to climb the cliffs with just a few defenders.

Pointe du Hoc from our 2014 Tour

Rudder’s Rangers

Site Sign at Point du Hoc

On the fateful day, Lt. Col James Rudder led 225 men in an assault on the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. 

But to understand this superb combat unit, we must return to the days of 1943, where Rudder formed the Rangers.  The 2nd Ranger Battalion was activated on April 1, 1943 at Camp Forrest, Tullahoma, Tennessee.  They were volunteer units.  Each soldier had to possess superb physical qualities and sharp mental skills.  They also trained in Florida.  Each ranger became skilled in all types of weapons, hand-to-hand combat and handling difficult terrain.  The unit was deployed to Scotland next.  Here they trained on scaling cliffs and trained with British Commandos. 

The rangers were organized into 6 line companies, A to F per battalion sized units.  Each company consisted of 65 men and 3 officers.  The companies were organized into 2 platoons.

The Plan

The plan was for part of the 2nd Ranger Battalion to assault the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc at 0630 and take possession of the German position by 0700.  This group was named Force A. 

Force A had 3 ranger companies in the task organization.  Company D was to scale the cliffs from the west; Companies E and F were to scale the cliffs from the east.  They would then destroy the cannons once on top of Pointe du Hoc.  After destroying the weapons, they were to establish a defensive perimeter on Pointe du Hoc and prevent the Germans from moving reinforcements down the coastal highway that connected Grandcamp and Vierville. 

The rangers were to hold the ground until relieved by the 116th Infantry Division.  Relief was scheduled for noon on 6 June 1944.

Force B, Charlie Company of the 2nd Rangers, was to assault and capture the area on the far right flank of the Omaha Beach on exit D-1.  Their objective was Pointe de la Percée. 

Force C, was comprised of the entire 5th Ranger Battalion, along with A and B companies of the 2nd Rangers.  Here were their missions: 

1). If the initial landing force failed, Force C was designated to assault and capture Pointe du Hoc, by landing at Omaha and moving inland to take Pointe du Hoc. 

Or

2) If the mission of Force A was successful, they were scheduled to also land at Pointe du Hoc as reinforcements, assuming the objective was taken by 0700. 

A Landing that Started Off Wrong

At 0445 the rangers of Force A were loaded into landing crafts that held 22 men per landing craft.  The men and supplies were loaded into 10 landing craft and 4 DUKW's amphibious vehicles.  As they approached the beachhead, they were 3 miles off course, and LTC Rudder realized the error—they were headed to Pointe de la Percée, the objective of Force B.

This a DUKW landing craft. LTC Rudder’s had 4 mechanical ladders ready to use in the assault.

The landing craft had to travel exposed broadside back to the correct landing site instead of only the front exposed to direct enemy fire. By the time they arrived at the objective, 1 landing craft and 2 DUKW’s were sunk. 

They were due to start their assault at 0630, but the currents and navigation errors delayed the landing until 0710.  Since the plan called for the assault to begin at 0630, the naval bombardment stopped at 0625.  This allowed the Germans to regroup and take up some defensive positions.

The Germans, however, were slow to reorganize, and this aided the assault.

The first landing crafts made it to Pointe du Hoc at 0710.  Their landing area was only 30 yards wide and the tide was rising.  There was no time to assault from both the west and east sides of Pointe du Hoc—they all had to go up the cliffs from the east side. 

Some equipment was not useable.  The 75-foot mechanized ladders mounted on the amphibious vehicles couldn’t get into positions to be used—it was too slippery for the tracks to get into position (there were only 2 available as they were transported by the DUKW’s and 2 were already sunk).  They had lost ammo supplies.  Ropes, men, radios and all their other equipment were soaked.

The only thing in their favor—the intense shelling and bombing had caused some of the cliff face to collapse into rubble piles.  In a few places, the climb would only be 60 feet.

The rangers were going to scale the cliffs under their own power using ropes and rope ladders.

Over the Top and Success of Force A

Scaling the cliffs was one of the most impressive military feats ever successfully accomplished by a US unit in combat.  Companies D, E and F landed and scaled the cliffs by using rocket-fired grappling hooks attached to ropes.  They developed the scaling techniques primarily by trial and error during their training sessions.  Their training was intense and it paid off—under pressure and enemy fire these soldiers responded, despite incredible odds against their success. 

The landing problems resulted in an assault only from the east side of Pointe du Hoc.  Some of the soaked ropes didn’t reach the top, but finally some worked correctly.  They only had 15 casualties in the initial assault.  The German defenders cut ropes, threw potato mashers and fired on the exposed soldiers.  The rangers countered with mortar fire and small arms fire at the German positions above.  Also 2 US destroyers fired their guns effectively at the cliff side German defenders.

5 minutes after landing, some rangers were already on top of the cliffs.  Within 15 minutes of landing, the majority of Rudder’s assault force had made it on top of Pointe du Hoc. 

Once up top, small groups of rangers went off to accomplish their missions.  They were stunned by the results of the bombardments—one soldier said it looked like the craters of the moon.  It looked nothing like the mock-ups and photos of the site.

Crater at Pointe du Hoc

A really good view of the bomb damage craters at Pointe du Hoc

But the biggest surprise was that the 155 mm cannons were missing—the Germans had placed painted telephone poles in the concrete bunkers to fool the aerial reconnaissance.  The German ruse had worked. 

Each gun position had been assigned a number and the rangers knew their primary mission was to destroy the position assigned to their unit.  Now they had to find the missing cannons.

This gun bunker was still under construction and not yet completed.

A bunker at Pointe du Hoc.

This is the Observation Post Bunker at Pointe du Hoc. It is the present day site of the Ranger Bayonet Monument on top of the bunker

One of the hardened gun positions at Pointe du Hoc.

Artillery Position #4 position at Pointe du Hoc

Artillery Position # 5

Gun Position # 6 Pointe du Hoc. This position was not yet hardened. In 1943, all the 6 gun positions were unprotected and open.

Rudder divided his forces into two units.  One group established a command post in the bunker area.  The second group went off in search of the missing cannons.  They were located, unguarded, in an apple orchard about a mile from Pointe du Hoc.  With thermite grenades and other explosives, the rangers destroyed the weapons and ammunition supplies.

By 0830, Pointe du Hoc was secured and 5 artillery cannons were destroyed.  Here is a picture of the 6th cannon, now on display:

This is the 6th 155 mm cannon now on display at Pointe du Hoc.

Force A, led by LTC Rudder, was the first American unit to accomplish their mission on D Day. They had captured Pointe du Hoc and established blocking positions on the road.

Force B

Pointe de la Percée on the western side. Force B landed on the east side

Meanwhile, Force B (Company C, of the 2nd Ranger Battalion) was assaulting at Omaha and later would capture Pointe de la Percée.  Their landing was at Charlie (farthest western sector of Omaha) on Omaha Beach, at 0645 in the second landing wave.  They landed after Company A, 116th Regiment was being torn apart on Dog Green (now more famously known as the Bedford Boys, as 19 from the town in VA were killed in the D Day assault on 6 June).  They too came under intense fire from 3 Widerstandnesten or Wn (resistance nests) defensive positions, Wn 71, Wn 72 and Wn 73.  They fought their way to the seawall. 

There were two possible plans for Force B.  If the D-1 Draw was clear, move up the draw and attack Pointe de la Percée and eliminate Wn 74 (plan 1).  Plan 2 was to climb up the cliffs (the worst option). 

Force B lacked most of the specialized climbing gear that was allocated to Force A.  With the draw not yet captured, the only option was climb the cliffs.  Hugging the cliffs, they found a section to climb.  PFC Otto Stephens climbed first, using his bayonet to dig hand holds.  He and 2 other rangers established a rope for the remaining rangers, so they would be able to climb up. 

The situation was so bad on Omaha, that the Force B commander, Captain Goranson, decided he had no other option than to attack Wn 73 and then proceed to attack Wn 74 on Pointe de la Percée. This turned out to be a great combat decision—Wn 73 was a really effective fighting position and Wn 74 was primarily a radar position, guarded by 2 anti-aircraft guns and several machinegun nests.

Only 29 of his 64 Rangers were able to fight—the rest were killed or wounded.  The remaining 29 men began slowly clearing the trenches of Wn 73.  They were later joined with 20 soldiers from 116th who also climbed the ropes.  All worked together, clearing the trenches, to eliminate their lethal machinegun nests and other defensive positions.

 At around 1400, Captain Goranson, after leading the men to clear the German defensive positions and block German reinforcements, led a patrol to Pointe de la Percée.  He found it abandoned, with the defensive positions Wn 74 destroyed by naval fire as they approached.  He returned to link up with Force C.  Around night fall, Force B had only 12 men able to fight.

Force C

Force C was reluctantly waiting off shore, hoping to reinforce LTC Rudder and Force A at Pointe du Hoc.  The soldiers bobbed up and down in the rough seas.  There was no signal received by the Battalion Commander, LTC Max Schneider, from Force A—he had ordered his landing crafts to lay-to offshore.  Schneider knew how important it was to reinforce Force A at Pointe du Hoc.

There was no more time left; at 0740 six landing crafts with the rangers landed at Omaha beach at Dog White.  They were met with intense fire.  LTC Schneider, the only ranger officer with combat experience, moved the rest of the force to landing zone Dog Red.  This was a pivotal decision during the early phases of the invasion landings at Omaha.  He managed to get most of his force intact over the exposed 200 yards to the seawall—brush fires helped obscure the defenders from accurate fire upon his landing unit. 

Getting a well-trained, elite unit almost intact to relative safety was a key factor in the fight for Omaha.

Shortly thereafter, he met up with BG Cota, Executive Officer of the 29th Division.  It is here where Cota, urging the men off the beach, yelled out “Rangers lead the way!”  They made it up the bluffs and probably were the key reason in the 29th Division sector succeeded in accomplishing their mission in taking their assigned sector of Omaha beach.  LTC Schneider led his men through the obstacles, past the barbed wire and up the cliffs.  They continued the assault to their initial objective near Vierville and later linked up with the remainder of Force B.  They had been in almost 10 hours of constant combat.

However, they were badly shot up and could not effectively reinforce Rudder’s men at Pointe du Hoc on 6 June 1944 but they still wanted to try.  Key leaders denied them the chance on 6 June 1944.  The 29th Division had lost so many men, it needed the rangers to help defend the small beach head positions inland.  Despite LTC Schneider’s pleas to go reinforce the stranded rangers, he was ordered to stay and help defend the beach head.

3 ranger companys at Pointe du Hoc were not as important as securing Omaha—a tough but correct command decision.

Hanging On at Pointe du Hoc

Rudder had signaled that he had landed late and taken Pointe du Hoc, but the message was garbled and not understood by the commanders at sea.  They committed the reserve rangers (Force C) to land at Omaha beach.  By the time he communicated success, and ask for help, the reply was “no reinforcements”. 

Rudder’s group was now on their own.

Later that day, the Germans started their counterattacks.  By night fall, Rudder’s men were forced back into defensive positions in a small 200 yard perimeter. 

At 2100, 1st platoon of A Company, who had been unable to link up with the rest of the 5th Ranger Bn., had fought their way to Ponte du Hoc and linked up with Rudder’s men, with a force of 23 soldiers.  They would be his only reinforcements on 6 June. 

By 7 June, Rudder had a fighting force of fewer of 100 of the original 225 who had begun the assault.  Ammunition and food were running low.  He did get some reinforcements from the sea.  About 60 men from the 1st Platoon of Fox Company of the 5th Rangers and a dismounted cannon platoon, help reinforced Rudder’s men and evacuate some wounded soldiers.

Rudder held on until 8 June, when the 5th Rangers and men from the 29th Division finally linked up with his force.  His men had withstood 5 counterattacks.

The Price for Victory

The 2nd Ranger Battalion (a total force of about 488) had 77 killed and 152 wounded and 38 listed as missing.  At the time of the relief, Rudder’s original force of 225 had less than 75 men capable of fighting.

Rudder was wounded twice in the battle and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). Thirteen other Rangers were awarded the DSC for their roles at Pointe du Hoc and the other ranger missions.

The 5th Ranger Battalion (again about 488 men, according to the Table of Organization & Equipment (TO&E)) had 23 men killed, 89 wounded and 2 missing.

Both the 2nd Ranger Bn. and the 5th Bn. were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and the French Croix de Guerre.

Bayonet Monument on Pointe du Hoc. From our 2014 tour.

Inscription on the Bayonet Monument The inscrition reads “To the heroic ranger commandoes D 2 RN E 2 Rn F 2 Rn of the 116th Inf under the commando Colonel James E Rudder of the First American Division attacked and took possension of the Pointe du Hoc”

Bayonet Monument on Pointe du Hoc. From our 2019 tour.

Our Final Thoughts

Competence | Courage | Sacrifice | Rangers Lead the Way

To me, the value of visiting a place like Pointe du Hoc, is to see first-hand the difficulties this unit had to endure to insure the success of the D Day invasion.  Reading about this in history books or blogs just doesn’t due it justice—when you walk the terrain, the hardships and sacrifice leap out at you.  It really is about the best of America military forces—superbly trained soldiers, given a near impossible mission, and they triumphed.

We have led two tours in Normandy in 2014 and 2019 and those experiences have made this operation much more real for me.  We owe a debt of gratitude to these folks—their sacrifice and courage will stay with me for the rest of my life. 

Coin we handed out to our tour members from our 2019

If you have never been to Normandy and seen the D Day Beaches, I would encourage you to go.

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Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you!  We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel.  Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com.  We want to help you:  Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations!  Your journey begins here!

ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management.  Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 26 years’ experience in the travel industry.  Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA.  Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations.  She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors.  An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.

HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 48+ years.  He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA).  This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years.  He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees.  His other Certifications:

• AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist

• Viking River Cruise Specialist

• Scenic River Cruise Specialist

• Emerald Waterways Specialist

• Avalon Waterways Specialist

• Brit Agent

WW II Cemeteries and Monuments in Europe

WW II Cemeteries and Monuments in Europe

By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71

Photos Anne Schrader, Army Wife

www.dreamdestinations.com

In a few days, it will be Memorial Day in 2024 on 26 May. I can think of no better way for Anne and I to share a little bit about the holiday and tell you about the final resting place of the fallen during the battles of WW II in Europe. I first wrote this in 2020 but it seems very important to send it out again in a revised form. May we all have a respectful Memorial Day, as this is our small tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The Memorial Day holiday has its origins from the end of the US Civil War—it was originally called Decoration Day.  Although the correct purpose of this holiday is to recognize those who actually died while on active service, for most American it also includes those who served their country and have passed on.  I know I personally honor my Dad on Memorial Day, even though he did not die on active duty but later in life after his retirement.

WW II American Cemeteries and Monuments in Europe

We cannot think of a better way to recognize the courage and sacrifice made by our Armed Forces in World War II, than to tell you about the Cemeteries and Monuments dedicated to our Armed Forces in Europe.

There are 13 American cemeteries and 3 monuments in Europe.  According to the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), there are 89,033 soldiers honored in the 13 cemeteries.  73,177 are buried; 15,856 are listed as missing.  There are 3 monuments maintained by the commission—one in England and 2 in Normandy, France.

To help us learn more about these tributes for our fallen and missing soldiers of WW II, I have organized this by country to help make their unbelievable sacrifice a little more understandable.

This is a hard blog to write—the sheer numbers are staggering.  Despite this tragic tale, these places are dignified and respectful.  It is like Arlington Cemetery where my father and mother are buried—they use similar markers for each deceased, regardless of rank, but each has his or her legacy engraved on the markers. Here is what a marker looks like in Arlington National Cemetery:

Henry Schrader Gravestone Marker in Arlington National Cemetery

In Europe, the markers are a cross or other religious symbols. Here is a photo of an unknown hero from the American Cemetery in Normandy:

Unknown Soldier Buried in Normandy American Cemetery. The inscrption reads “Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God”

American Cemeteries in Belgium

There are 2 American Cemeteries in Belgium.  The Ardennes American Cemetery contains 5,317 buried, with 65 percent of those being fallen airmen of the U.S. Army Air Forces. There are also tributes to the 463 reported missing in action.  This cemetery served as the central identification point for all of the Europe Theater of Operations towards the end of the war and continued that mission of identification until 1960.

The Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery has 7,992 soldiers buried here and there is recognition for 450 missing in action.  The majority of the fallen Americans are from two major efforts of WW II.  The first battles were a result of the U.S. First Army's drive in September 1944 through northern France, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg into Germany, and the second group of dead were from the Battle of the Bulge.

The American Cemetery in England

Cambridge American Cemetery is the only American Cemetery in England.  The site was donated by Cambridge University.  3,812 are buried here; there is also tributes to the 5,127 reported missing in action.  Most were crew members who died in the Battle of the Atlantic or in bombardments of Europe later in the war.  In 2014, a visitor center was opened to help explain this critical phase of WW II.  It even has a downloadable app to help visitors learn more about this vital war effort.

American Cemeteries in France

There are 6 American Cemeteries in France. 

The Brittany American Cemetery is located near the eastern edge of Brittany.  Here are buried 4,409 dead soldiers and there is recognition for 500 reported missing in action.  Most of these military members died fighting in the Normandy and Brittany campaigns of 1944.

The Epinal American Cemetery is located near the Moselle River.  It has 5,254 buried here, most of whom lost their lives in the drive by the 7th Army towards Germany in the northeastern portion of France.  It also recognizes 424 missing in action.

The Lorraine American Cemetery contains the largest number of US soldiers killed in Europe—there are 10,489 buried here.  Another 444 were reported missing in action and their names are listed on the plaques displayed here.  Most of the dead here were killed while driving the German forces from the fortress city of Metz, France toward the Siegfried Line and the Rhine River.

The Normandy American Cemetery, perhaps the best known of all WW II cemeteries by Americans, is the final resting place for 9,385 killed and 1,557 reported missing during this campaign.  It lies just yards from the Omaha Beach area.  Walking this area is special—the rows of dignified markers honor these dead.  It was the first cemetery established in Europe by the Americans.  When I was walking this hallowed ground, it is a stark reminder of what it took to invade Europe—the sheer number of markers is just overwhelming. 

Anne and I led a tour here in 2014 for the 70th Anniversary of D Day (June 6, 1944) and a tour in 2019 for the 75th Anniversary.  During the 2014 ceremonies, each gave site was marked with a small American and French flag.  It was indeed memorable and touching and a fine tribute to our lost soldiers. Here are 3 pictures from our 2014 and 2019 tours:

American Cemetery in Normandy with French and American Flags 2014

This pictures shows the endless rows of the dead at the American Cemetery in Normandy 2014

2019 picture of the American Cemetery taken on 3 June 2019 as the cemetery prepares for the 6 June 2019 observances. Photo Anne Schrader.

The Rhone American Cemetery is along the route used by the U.S. Seventh Army in its drive up the Rhone Valley. It was established on August 19, 1944 after the Seventh Army's surprise landing in southern France.  There are 860 dead buried here and recognition of the 294 missing servicemen who were in this battle area.

The smallest WW II cemetery is near Paris.  The Suresnes American Cemetery is primarily a WW I cemetery, but it also has 24 unknown soldiers killed in WW II buried on the grounds.

Italy

There are 2 American Cemeteries in Italy. 

The Florence American Cemetery has 4,399 soldiers buried here and there is recognition of 1,409 reported missing in action.  These are soldiers of the 5th US Army, who died in the fight to capture Rome and in the heavy fighting battles in the Apennines Mountains that lasted until almost the end of WW II. 

The Sicily-Rome American Cemetery has 7,860 buried in the cemetery and 3,095 are listed on plaques as missing in action.  According to the ABMC website

“The majority of these individuals died in the liberation of Sicily (July 10 to August 17, 1943); in the landings in the Salerno Area (September 9, 1943) and the heavy fighting northward; in the landings at Anzio Beach and expansion of the beachhead (January 22, 1944 to May 1944); and in air and naval support in the regions.”

Luxembourg

One of the most well-known cemeteries in Europe by Americans, is the American Cemetery in Luxembourg.  Along with the 5,075 buried here and the 371 reported missing, it is the burial site of LTG George Patton.  Anne and I visited this sacred ground in 1989 while I was still on active duty.  It was truly emotional for me—I was so humbled and grateful for these soldiers.  Many of these soldiers lost their lives in the Battle of the Bulge and the subsequent drive to the Rhine River.  My Dad was part of the Battle of the Bulge and he survived—I am sure knowing that made me respect these dead heroes even more.

Luxembourg Cemetery. Photo Anne Schrader taken on our 1989 visit.

Netherlands

There is only one American Cemetery in the Netherlands.  It has 8,301 buried here; another 1,722 are listed as missing on the plagues displayed at this site.  According to the AMBC, this cemetery has a unique connection to the Dutch people.   

“Since 1945 members of the local community have adopted the grave sites of our fallen. They bring flowers to the cemetery and research the life of the service member as a way to honor their sacrifice.” 

It is a nice tribute to those buried here.

ABMC Monuments

There are 3 monuments in Europe commemorating the struggles our soldiers went thru in route to our victory in Europe.  The first 2 are in the Normandy area.  They are the Point du Hoc Ranger Monument and the Utah Beach American Monument. 

As a graduate of the US Army Ranger School, when I first walked the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, I realized how difficult the climb was from the beach and I just could not imagine completing the climb under hostile fire.  The monument is a ranger trench knife built on top of one of the bunkers of Pointe du Hoc.  The mission of the second ranger battalion was to scale the cliffs and eliminate the 155 mm artillery cannons the Germans had placed on this key defensive position.  In recognition of their successful mission, the monument was created by the grateful French people.

Here are some pictures of this monument:

Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument from our 2014 visit.

Pointe du Hoc Bayonet Monument Inscription

The inscrition reads “To the heroic ranger commandoes D 2 RN E 2 Rn F 2 Rn of the 116th Inf under the commando Colonel James E Rudder of the First American Division attacked and took possension of the Pointe du Hoc”

Pointe Du Hoc Ranger Monument from our 2019 tour. Picture Anne Schrader.

This is the observation bunker that holds the bayonet monument,to help you understand it is the only item added to this battle site.

The monument on Utah Beach is a tribute to the successful amphibious assault landing on June 6, 1944.  It commemorates the achievements of U.S. VII Corps forces that landed and fought in the liberation of the Cotentin Peninsula from June 6, 1944 to July 1, 1944.

The monument is a red granite obelisk set in a small park overlooking sand dunes of the historic site.

Utah Beach Monument. Picture from the American Battle Monuments Commission Website

The newest monument is in Dartmouth, England and was dedicated on June 6, 2017.  Dartmouth was one of the staging points for the D Day invasion.

Our Final Thoughts

While researching this blog, I realized how many members of our Armed Forces scarificed their lives against nations determined to defeat us and impose their will upon our country.  We hope you will take a few minutes to reflect on this monumental effort and the cost to many who made the ultimate sacrifice.  They deserved to be remembered and honored.  We hope this blog did them justice and we hope you will remember them also. 

May we never forget—be thou at peace to each who gave so much for our country.

Hank Schrader, Major (Infantry) USA Ret. 

Anne Schrader, Army Wife

I thought long and hard if it was proper to add this picture of Anne and I at Ft Ord on New Year’s Eve. I decide it was okay as both our fathers fought in WW II and we are their legacy.

Thanks Dads for your bravery and sacrifice—you may rest easy knowing we still honor you both!

Veterans Day 2023--Some of My Life's Guiding Principles I Learned While Serving in the US Army

Veterans Day 2023—Some of My Life’s Guiding Principles I Learned While Serving in the US Army

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

This Saturday, 11 November 2023 is Veterans Day.  It will be a Federal Holiday on Friday 10 November this year.

I always try to write something meaningful about being a 20-year US Army Veteran (1971-1991) on Veterans Day.  I doubt anyone who has ever served in the military has not been changed in some way, regardless of whether they liked or disliked their service time.  It is not a job that is right for many, as the sacrifice and demands seem endless.

Some will be disappointed about us not writing about travel, but the experiences gained from my service and Anne’s experience as a spouse and civilian employee of the Army, are part of the values of our company.  Reflecting is an important part of life and I want to share my thoughts with you.

So, I thought I’d pass on a few thoughts about My Guiding Principles I learned as both a West Point cadet and an Army Officer.  All these principles have carried through after I retired from the Army and went on to other jobs.  I’m sure many Army Leaders used most of these characteristics during their service.

Being Physically Fit

The Army is a demanding physical profession.  We often carry 40 to 80 pounds of gear, work with little sleep and then have to perform with others shooting at us.  I knew, if my men depended upon me, I had to be the one in the best shape of all of them.

I guess this just came naturally—I ran the 440-yard dash on the Army Track Team in my 4 years at West Point. played rugby until I was 41, sometimes at a high level and loved working out.  It wasn’t just okay to be good; I tried to be the best. 

Army-Navy Indoor Track meet 1968. I ran the second leg of the mile relay and have just taken the baton from my teammate. We won the event.

Outdoor Army-Navy meet 1969. I ran lead-off leg of the mile relay which we won.

As a young 2nd lieutenant during the 12-mile march as part of the EIB (Expert Infantryman Badge), requirements, the standard was carry full gear and complete the march in under 3 hours to pass (a 4 mile an hour pace).  There were over 300 candidates line up at the start and I finished first of all of them in 1 hour and forty-nine minutes—better than 6 miles an hour pace with all the gear.  It wasn’t about bragging rights; it was about performance and dependability.

My Battalion Commander told me after that event, he knew who to count on for the toughest job and that held true for all the time he was in command—he depended upon me, and I performed.

Leading From the Front and Loyalty

As a leader, you set the standards.  I never asked my men to do anything I would not do.  Men respect leaders who care for their soldiers.  What attitude do you display in the front of your soldiers—when you are dirty, tired and the tasks become more difficult, do you gripe, or do you inspire?  Trained properly and with good leaders, soldiers can achieve way more than they thought they could.

I am leading my soldiers in a parade as commanding officer of B Company, 4/20th Infantry.

I guess it goes without saying you must be competent in your craft—understanding tactics, doctrine and concepts is vital.  You must know how to maintain and properly use the equipment and arms in your unit and the unit you command or support.

Track Swim of B6, my command vehicle in Panama 1979. We had just completed swimming my M114 armored carrier in Gatun Lake.

Our West Point Cadet Prayer said this rather succinctly, “Encourage us to live above the common level of life”—it means for me lead from the front and try to achieve better results than most and attain at least the set standards, no matter how high or difficult it is.

Being the example and role model requires discipline and vision—where do you want your soldiers to go?  It also requires consistency—you can’t be good one day and sloppy the next.  You also must have a goal or standard to reach and decide what is your vision to achieve that standard.

Communication is important—it must be effective and meaningful.  Leading from the front also means you set the standards and then empower your soldiers and give them the chance to achieve the unit and individual goals.  It is not always easy but necessary to be an effective unit.

Leading from the front also means loyalty to your superiors and to your men—good leaders know how to balance loyalty both ways up the chain of command and down the chain of command.

This is a picture from 1977 Founders Day in Panama. Loyalty means honoring traditions. From left to right, Hank, and my 2 West Point Class of 1971 classmates Rich Zimmerman and Larry Boice.

Honor and Integrity

West Point teaches us to become leaders of character.  Many of us, and even our children and spouses often cite perhaps the best-known line of the Cadet Pray “Make us chose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole can be won” as a great guiding principal of their lives.

You are always tested throughout an Army career, with chances to cut corners or just try to avoid the whole truth.  Most of the time, it was just clear-cut—this is wrong regardless of the consequences.

I once faced a very difficult decision as a new S-3 (Operations Officer).  I was a major.  On our first field training exercise, I had to develop an operations order (you military folks know this as the 5-paragraph operations order).  I prepared the order, showed it to my Battalion Commander (an LTC) and he made some major revisions to clear up the instructions.  He was an awesome ops guy—he took my correct instructions to all the units and made them textbook perfect.  With the updated order, I then had to brief our Brigade Commander (Bde) about the plans. 

The briefing went better than I could have expected, it was a sure homerun.  Our Bde Commander then stated it was the “best op order he had ever heard” and praised me for writing such a great ops order.  Without hesitation, I responded “Sir, this is not my work alone, my Bn Commander rewrote a lot of it.”  In a highly competitive environment of field grade officers, this could have cost me a chance for promotion to LTC.  I can never be sure, but that day forward there could be no doubt from anyone in the 7th Infantry Division (Light) I would not take credit for something I didn’t do or have help with.

I know I made the right decision—the truth is always the proper path regardless of the consequences—I like to say, “bad news never gets better with age”. 

Courage

Courage is a hard thing to define.  Maybe it is a lack of fear, maybe it’s overcoming fear.  I guess in some form it is confronting a difficult situation seeking a solution.  The higher the difficulty of the situation (in the military we often refer to this as conditions), the resolve required for a successful outcome is a measure of courage.  There is both mental courage and physical courage.

The Cadet prayer defines courage as “Endow us with courage that is born of loyalty to all that is noble and worthy, that scorns to compromise with vice and injustice and knows no fear when truth and right are in jeopardy.”  This part of the prayer talks about the mental challenges of courage.  It requires a lot of judgement to decide what is “noble and worthy” and excellent critical thinking skills. 

It takes courage to assess what is wrong and fix it—we often don’t like confrontations.  True leadership is making corrections and retraining to attain or surpass the desired outcomes.  The result is a better trained unit and will ultimately save lives as a deterrent or in actual conflict.  The right approach results in unit cohesion and superbly trained soldiers.  On way I approached this was not to present problems to my superiors, but to present a problem and a possible solution.  As you can imagine, it was a constant in my military career.

As a major (O 4), while the Chief of Investigations and Assistance of the 7th Infantry Division (Light), I routinely advised the 2-star Division Commander (0-8) about situations and violations of regulations.  Most senior officers I had to confront were very receptive and appreciative to resolve problems before they became issues.  I was not as fortunate with a One-star (07) who was incorrectly punishing a soldier and was not following the regulations for the situation.  He refused to take my advice and berated me repeatedly—he felt it was his prerogative and I was not going to usurp his power or decisions.  I calmly replied, “Sir, you can either take my advice, or you will receive a call from your 2-star commander who will order you to comply.”  He refused.  20 minutes later, the 2-star commander called him and ordered him to comply.

This was about me taking power and decision making from superior officers—it was about doing what was right and following our written regulations, but it did require courage on my part to do what was right and confront a superior officer.  You should realize that that is one way our Army is great—even high-ranking officers or senior enlisted are not above the regulations.

We know all about physical courage under fire.  We often recognize these feats with medals—the Bronze Star with V device (Valor), the Silver Star, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Medal of Honor and with combat badges.  As the popular saying of today is, these heroes ran towards the sound of gunfire, not away from it.

I always are in awe of these soldiers—I never served in an offical combat zone and respect and admire those who served and displayed courage under fire.

This is a summary of my career. The 4 medals are from left to right Meritorious Service Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters (oak leaf is used to designated another award of the same medal), an Army Commendation Medal, an Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster and the National Defense Service Medal. Just above my name tag is my Airborne Wings, my Expert Infantry Badge and my cloth Ranger Tab. Also on this carboard display is my Infantry Branch Crossed Rifles, my Major Golf Leaf rank insignia and my Inspector General Branch insignia. The other pins are units I served in during my 20 year career.

Decisiveness

Good leaders have the ability to determine the correct course of action or to readjust if things are not working out right.  Judgement is very important, good leaders evaluate and respond appropriately. 

Making sound and timely decisions is the key.  Evaluating situations and deciding how to solve the problem or confrontation facing you.  Calmness and poise under pressure are awesome characteristics of leaders.  It saves lives in combat and training is stressful situations is important part of developing the confidence to be decisive.

My Final Thoughts

I’m proud to be a veteran, it was an honor to serve my country.  I can promise you the sacrifices and conditions of military service pale to what I gained.  I learned how to perform under pressure, to achieve goals and standards, and developed into a leader of character.  Many along the way helped mentor me, demanded more of me and taught me to be a better leader.  The soldiers I served with helped me by supporting and preforming as required.  I was just a small part of a much bigger service force that protected our country during my 20 years of service.

Maybe the next time you run across a veteran, thank them for helping to protect our nation.  They all need to be remembered, for they made our country safe and allowed others to pursue their dreams, raise families, and grow our nation.

Thanks for reading, and if you are a veteran, currently serving, or part of an active or veteran family, thanks for protecting our country.  You are all very special and have my utmost respect.

Major (retired) Henry “Hank” Carl Schrader, Jr, Infantry Officer 1971-1991

The Significance of D Day 6 June 1944

The Significance of D Day 6 June 1944

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

Tuesday 6 June 2023 was the 79th anniversary of the D Day Invasion.  As most of you know, we have led 2 tours during the 70th (2014) and 75th Anniversary of D Day (2019).  It was an experience hard to repeat, as it is both a celebration and a somber event.  Conflicts and wars result in suffering and loss of life that is sobering and causes me to have a lot of reflection about world events.

Overview of the D Day Invasion Plan Portsmouth D Day Museum 2014

Our 2014 tour group.

Some of our 2019 tour group

My hope in writing this blog is to recount how the events of the D Day invasion changed world history in Europe and in many ways shaped our present-day world.  It is also to recognize the sacrifice of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the allies to stop the aggression and occupation of Europe by the Third Reich of Germany.

Once you understand the consequences of this day in history, I think you will be compelled to visit Normandy to see for yourself the area of conflict that these brave, scared souls achieved on that fateful day.

This was a history changing day, so let’s learn together about this massive invasion, why it was so important, and why you should see the key sights in the Normandy battlefield beaches area.

What was the state of war in June 1944 in Europe?

The war was not going well for Germany in June 1944, as they were being pushed back on the Eastern Front by the Russian Army.  They also knew that there was an invasion coming from England—they were defending one active front and trying to prepare for a second active front.

In November 1943, the Big Three (Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill) agreed in a conference in Tehran, that the Western Forces of the United States and Britain would invade France in 1944 and open a second front against the German Fortress Europe. 

The clock was now ticking for the D Day invasion of France.  It was a race between German defenders and the Allied invasion force.

The ideal strategy was simple for the planners of the D Day amphibious invasion—attack lightly defended beaches, secure the beach, and move men and supplies quickly inland. 

Next, establish or capture a port to reinforce with more men and supplies. 

Then, defeat the German forces and win the war.

Executing it proved to be one of the most difficult military tasks ever attempted. 

During the massive planning operations, Pas du Calais (the most favorable landing site) and Normandy were under consideration.  Both had enough good characteristics to work for an amphibious landing.  But Normandy was the best choice, 1) as in 1943 it was a lightly defended part of the German Atlantic Wall and 2) the Germans anticipated an attack at Pas du Calais and fortified it and moved more soldiers into defensive positions. 

The German Defenders

The Germans realized they weren’t prepared to properly defend the vast Atlantic Wall in 1943.  The German commander, General Gerd von Rundstedt, drafted a report to Hitler about the scant fortifications and poor-quality units defending the area.  Hitler responded by adding General Erwin Rommel (known popularly as the “Desert Fox” for his Africa campaign) to oversee improving the defenses.

The Germans knew an invasion was coming—they just didn’t know where or when.  The choice that the Germans believed the Allies would select was an invasion of Pas de Calais, as it was the most logical invasion site—only 20 miles from England and had 20 miles of good landing beaches. 

The allies bolstered that illusion by creating a fake force under the command of LTG George Patton, complete with fake equipment, field barracks and even docking areas near Dover.  They relentlessly bombed the Calais area in the build-up phase, as well as other targets in France. 

In an unusual operation, they also dropped dummies by parachutes, to harass and confuse the Germans. 

dropped dummies by parachutes, in the deception program

Field Marshal Rommel was also convinced Calais was the prime invasion site and deployed the 208,000-man 15th Army to defend this area.  The deception plan of D Day was working as hoped for by the Allies.

The first priority for the Germans was protecting the major harbors, as any invading forces would need constant supplies, more men and equipment.  After securing these major ports, they then began building “Widerstandnesten” (resistance nests) along the beaches.  These were a series of pillboxes, gun positions, anti-aircraft weapons and trenches.  The beaches were littered with obstacles, mines (over 4 million mines).  Inland, flooded lowlands and stakes were planted in the ground to cut into gliders during landings and make parachute operations more dangerous.

Machine gun bunker guarding the beach and D-1 Draw on Omaha Beach. Taken during our 2014 tour.

A key concept for the Germans was to stop the invasion on the beaches, so all defensive resources were placed at or near the beach areas and no defense in depth was planned.  There were reserve units to stop breakthroughs, but the best reserve unit of panzer tanks could only be released by Hitler.  If the Allies could breach these tough defenses, and cut off the reserve forces, they would have a good chance of success.

By June 1944 all the beaches used for the D Day landings in Normandy had at least some of these defensive measures in places. 

Unknown to the allies, the best defended beach in Normandy was Omaha.

The stage was set for that fateful day 6 June 1944.

Concept of the Overlord Operation

You might be surprised to know the last successful armed assault across the English happened in 1066 (yes, the famous Battle of Hastings).  8 centuries later, this was about to change.

Amphibious landings are complex operations.  Trying to attack with 5 divisions over a 50-mile front in Normandy, from a base in England, would require naval forces, air forces and army units from British, Canadian, and American forces.  The allied armies and massive equipment needed to ensure success only added to the complexity.  150,000 soldiers would be required, with a fleet of 5,333 ships and an air armada of over 12,921 planes.

Synchronizing an operation of this size remains one of the most amazing military feats in the history of the world.

An Overview of the Invasion

Operation Overlord, the code name for the D Day invasion, was a complicated multipart attack.  To soften up and destroy some of the defending German forces, the area was bombed for about 6 weeks prior to the invasion. 

On the early morning hours of 6 June 1944, American and British paratroopers parachuted and later landed in gliders to secure the western flank (American forces) and the eastern flank (British forces). 

Then, prior to the start of the landings, a naval bombardment of about 30 minutes in duration started, followed by an aerial bombardment. 

Next, the amphibious landings took place on the 5 objective beaches.  The 3 beaches in the British Second Army sector, were Gold, Juno, and Sword.  They were attacked by British and Canadian units.

The 2 American beaches, under the U. S. First Army (commanded by Lt. General Omar Bradley), were Omaha and Utah

Unit Patches from the Attacking American Forces at Utah, Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beaches

Reflecting on the Significance of D Day

Some historians claim this was the most important day in the history of the last 100 years.  The victory of the successful invasion was symbolic, strategic, and operationally sealed the fate of the Nazi regime.  It would also change the course of world history.

Symbolically, it put forces governed by democratic systems into the decisive ending of the war—essentially Russia and their totalitarian regime would not control all of Europe if the Western Allies had not invaded and Russia defeated the Germans alone.

Strategically, the war in Europe expanded with a second front, and the resources of the American, British, and Canadian forces executed the “Germany First” political strategy to finish off the German Army and then on to defeat Japan in Asia.

Operationally, it relieved pressure on Russia on the Eastern Front and required the Germans to defend with over 400,000 soldiers on a second front.

The result of the successful invasion made America a world power and led to the stability and wealth of future Europe.  Totalitarianism was not going to be the model of all Western European countries, yet some would suffer under the rule of Russia’s Iron Curtain in the war’s aftermath.  This ideological conflict would quickly develop into the Cold War after the end of World War II.

D Day also was a key event in the global balance of power of nations.  The resolve of the British in 1941 to return to the European continent was a crucial part of the conduct of the war prior to America entering into the conflict.  After D Day and the conclusion of WW II, America emerged as the most powerful nation in the world, followed by Russia.  Britain was the third most powerful nation.  All 3 of these nations projected their influence on the world stage today, but it was especially true at the war’s end.

Ultimately, it ended in the Yalta conference with the Big Three to discuss the postwar reorganization of Europe.  Despite promises by Stalin to allow democratic elections in territory such as Poland, he broke all his assurances of the agreement.  The start of the Cold War was on.

So, Why Visit the Key D Day Sites

Strategy and higher-level planning provide resources for an invasion of this magnitude, but it is the soldier on the ground that executes the planning.  How they achieved their tasks, and the terrain can not be fully understood until you actually visit the site of the conflict.

There is probably no Europe battlefield as well preserved as the D Day landing areas and fighting sites in Normandy.

Here are some sites we recommend you visit:

Pointe du Hoc

Pointe du Hoc is actually not changed much at all since 1944—the gun emplacements, the bomb craters, and the steep cliffs the rangers had to climb under intense fire, make their exploits come to life—how did they take this area given the natural defenses of this place?  Those of us, who are ranger qualified like me, realize at best a 100-foot climb of a 90-degree slope to the top of the bluff peninsula with a full combat load of equipment would be a daunting physical challenge under any circumstances, but to do it under fire is a testament to the sheer bravery and intense training of the soldiers who accomplished this mission.

The east side of Pointe du Hoc where the rangers landed on 6 June 1944

The sheer cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. Notice the narrow landing area. It is easy to understand why the Germans believed it was not feasible to attack from the sea. This is from our 2014 tour.

A really good view of the bomb damage craters at Pointe du Hoc

Pointe du Hoc during the 2014 celebration.

One of the 6 gun emplacements at Pointe du Hoc. From our 2019 tour.

This is the Observation Post Bunker at Pointe du Hoc. It is the present day site of the Ranger Bayonet Monument on top of the bunker

Bayonet Monument on Pointe du Hoc. From our 2019 tour.

Omaha Beach

This was the most daunting of the 5 landing beaches during D Day—the bluffs provided clear fields of fire for the German defenders.  With favorable terrain for the Germans to defend, and airstrikes that missed the majority of the defensive positions, this landing site was in doubt as secured for most of the day on 6 June 1944. 

Military trained personnel will quickly appreciate the open 300 yards or so, with no natural cover—it was a true “killing zone.”  It turned out to be the most heavily defended of the 5 beaches during the invasion.

When the first soldiers hit the beach, the beach erupted into withering fire from all directions—it was utter chaos!  Success at Omaha was still in doubt 6 hours after the attack began.

The chaotic battlefield resulted in over 2,000-2,500 men killed, wounded, or missing at Omaha—no one is really sure due to the confusion of this intense battle site.

As I walked the beach, I couldn’t help but wonder how anyone survived that day.

Part of Omaha Beach as seen from the American Cemetery—these were good defensive positions for the German defenders to engage the American soldiers.

Western sector of Omaha Beach. Taken during our 2014 tour.

Sculpture on Omaha Beach, from our 2014 tour.

Les Braves sculpture Omaha Beach 2019.

Memorial on Omaha Beach 2019. This is located on the Les Moulins Draw.

Utah Beach and the Airborne Combat Parachute Assault

Utah was a great success but a lesson to all leaders about the tenacity of the American soldier and decisive leadership.

Operation Neptune was the code name for the airborne and glider assault during the D Day invasion. 

The Airborne Forces, though initially scattered (one account I read reported 75% were dropped at the wrong drop zones), performed with great success one of the most daring behind the line’s attacks in the history of warfare to secure their blocking positions.

There were two reasons for their success, in my opinion.  First, the scattered forces confused the Germans—they could not focus their forces on one single area.  Second, the resolve of the soldiers and their leaders—makeshift units operated to accomplish their missions, when unit cohesion was lost.  Again, the individual fighting spirit of the soldiers to do the job despite the difficulties won the day.

It was not easy—after a week of brutal fighting about 2,500 were killed wounded or missing in action from the 2 Airborne Divisions.

The sign marking the site of Iron Mike,—it is one of the most powerful messages I have ever read about D Day.

Part of this sign reads “THIS MEMORAL SITE SERVES NO PURPOSE OTHER THAN TO ETERNALLY REMEMBER THE PRICE PAID IN BLOOD FOR FREEDOM AND PEACE. IN PERPECTUAL HONOR TO THOSE WHO BELIEVED THERE WAS NO BETTER PLACE TO DIE THAN THE LA FIERE BRIDGE AND NO BETTER REASON THAN THE LIBERATION OF NORMANDY.”

Iron Mike is a tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives capturing and defending the bridge at La Fiere. It was part of the mission to capture and secure the river crossings during the D Day airborne landings. The original statue is at Ft. Bragg, NC, home of the 82nd Airborne.. From our 2019 tour. Fort Bragg has just been renamed to Fort Liberty.

Paratrooper equipment and uniform on display in the Airborne Museum—this is what a typical soldier wore to jump into the Normandy countryside.

Utah Beach

The story of Utah beach is different than Omaha.  It started out by a mistake--the planned landing site was off 1000 meters when the first landing craft approached the beaches.

It turns out this lucky mistake put the Americans at a lightly defended portion of Utah, with fewer obstacles, as compared to the more heavily defended planned landing site.  A quick change of plans happened—the Americans took advantage of the poorly defended area and began pushing inland. 

BG Teddy Roosevelt, Jr, assistant division commander, who landed with the first wave on Utah, recognized the error but also quickly realized the poorly defended area was a huge advantage and as we like to say in the military, “seized the initiative”.  He and Col. James Van Fleet, commanding officer of the 8th Regiment, started sending troops inland on route #1 and pushed into the other route causeways.  By 1100 hours, exit causeway route #1 was secure—the soldiers of the 4th had linked up with soldiers of 101st.  Around noon, all 4 causeway exits were secured.

Utah turned out to be a roaring success.  As the darkness started, around 23,500 troops and 1,700 vehicles had landed.

Utah Beach 2019

Utah Beach—as you can see, the terrain is not as favorable to defend as Omaha was for the German forces.

Utah Beach in 2019. The monument in the background is the sailor’s monument.

Higgins Landing Craft on display at Utah Beach

A Sherman Tank on display at Utah Beach

Tank outfitted to swim. From our 2019 tour. Photo Hank Schrader

Going inland on causeway #1. This is the Leadership Monument. The WW II Foundation selected Maj. Dick Winters of Easy Company as the symbol of leadership during the D Day Invasion. It was dedicated on 6 June 2012. Many learned about Major Winters and Easy Company from the series Band of Brothers.

Arromanches Artificial Harbor and Arromanches 360

While there are scant remains of this site in the ocean, building a harbor as a temporary port is a genius idea that worked.  In the span of 6 days, this site brought about 300,000 soldiers, 54,000 vehicles and 104,000 tons of material to the Normandy battlefield theater. 

We toured the Musee de Debarquement in our 2019 visit.  It tells the story of the artificial harbor (the formal name is Mulberry Harbor, named after the towed parts of the harbor that were used to create this temporary port), from concept, to execution, to success. The port was named Port Winston after Winston Churchill.

The village of Arromanches.

Part of the remains of the artificial port in the oceans

More of the harbor.

Inside the museum

The D Day 75 Garden, near the 360 theater. In the background, you see some of the remains of the artificial harbor.

A monument to the engineer units. In the background is a mobile bridge to help soldiers and vehicles cross river obstacles.

Overlooking this tiny village, is the Arromanches 360 Theater.  For a 20-minute experience of 360-degree explanation of the 100-day battle of Normandy, this theater is shocking and spellbinding—we also have done it in 2014 and 2019 on our tours.

Longues-sur-Mer Battery

Located between Gold and Omaha beaches, this 4-gun installation is the only remaining coastal artillery site that remains in Normandy.  It is well preserved and a stark reminder of the defensive power that faced the Allied attackers.

5 reenactors posed for us on our 2014 tour. Notice the strong fortifications to protect the gun enplacement.

The Airborne Museum in Ste. Mere Eglise

There is no better place to be on 6 June in Normandy than in the first liberated village in France.  This is a festival, with parades, and reenactors.  It is also home to the Airborne Museum.

The 3-part museum is fascinating and dedicated to the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. 

The first area of the museum is the Waco building, dedicated to the glider units. 

Entrance to the Waco building in the Ste. Mere Eglise Airborne Museum

Sargeant’s jacket and slide rule used during the glider operations displayed in the Airborne Museum, Ste. Mere Eglise

There is also a C-47 building, dedicated to the plane used by the paratroopers and displays of their equipment and training. 

C 47 Jump plane on display Airborne Museum 2019

Mannequins dressed in uniforms are used to simulate a loading scene prior to the night jump of D Day. To get a better view of the hanger space, visitors can climb an observation deck above the C 47 airplane

Another loading scene

Thompson .45 cal. Machine gun and ammo used in the D Day Assault. This is on display in the Airborne Museum in Ste. Marie Eglise, France.

Weapon’s Display in the C-47 Building on display in the Airborne Museum in Ste Mere Eglise

The last part is called operation Neptune—using technology, you can experience a night jump into the square of Ste. Mere Eglise.

Here are some pictures from the festival, with displays, reenactors and festival folks celebrating the liberation of the village.

DUKW landing craft on display in Ste Mere Eglise 2014

Reenactors in Ste. Mere Eglise during the 2014 D Day Festival

This is a display from the only French Airborne Artillery Unit in the French Army, from our 2014 tour.

Part of the parade during the 2014 D Day Festival in Ste Mere Eglise

Ste. Mere Eglise church steeple with the replica of a dangling PFC John Steele

Waiting in line for grilled meats, D Day Festival 6 June 2014 in Ste Mere Eglise

Drink Tent Ste. Mere Eglise D Day Festival 2014

Normandy American Cemetery

The Normandy American Cemetery, perhaps the best known of all WW II cemeteries by Americans, is the final resting place for 9,385 killed and 1,557 reported missing during this campaign.  It lies just yards from the Omaha Beach area.

Experiencing this area is special—the rows of dignified markers honor these dead.  It was the first cemetery established in Europe by the Americans.

Walking this hallowed ground is a stark reminder of what it took to invade Europe—the sheer number of markers is just overwhelming.  Anne & I led a tour here in 2014 for the 70th Anniversary of D Day (June 6, 1944) and in 2019 for the 75th Anniversary.  During the 2014 and 2019 ceremonies, each gave site was marked with a small American and French flag.  It was indeed memorable and touching and a fine tribute to our lost soldiers.

This photo taken by Anne captures the vastness of this grave site and honors the religious afiliation of the deceased soldiers buried here.

Visitors paying tribute to soldiers with flowers. Many residents of Normandy have adopted a gravesite and leave flowers at individual grave markers. The French motto: NEVER FORGET

Endless graves—it is overwhelming.

This photo does a good job capturing the precision the graves have been placed on this former battle site. It adds dignity to the cemetery.

A grave marker of an unknown soldier. The inscription reads “Here Rests In Honored Glory A Comrade In Arms Known But To God”

A concert during the 2014 Ceremony honoring the lost lives and soldiers at the American Cemetery in 2014

I don’t think you can visit here and not feel that freedom is not free—it is earned by sacrifice.

Our Final Thoughts

D Day was a success but what really stands out to me is the resolve of the soldiers, sailors and airmen who made the operation work.  Heroic, innovative and resourceful, these military forces should be honored for their deeds.  They did not really see themselves as heroes--most just wanted to live to see 7 June 1944. 

The war’s end would not come for 336 days of more combat.  It would have never happened so soon, if these forces had not taken the first step on 6 June 1944 that ultimately ended the German occupation of Europe and opened a second front.

History was made that day, as the future of Europe would require the Allies defeating the Germans.  Europe changed from occupied lands and countries to some free democratic countries and some under communist control.  Today’s Europe could have been quite different if the invasion had failed.

We have led two tours in Normandy in 2014 and 2019 and those experiences have made this operation much more real for me.  We owe a debt of gratitude to these folks—their sacrifice and courage will stay with me for the rest of my life. 

If you have never been to Normandy and seen the D Day Beaches, I would encourage you to go.

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Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you!  We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel.  Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com.  We want to help you:  Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations!  Your journey begins here!

ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management.  Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 26 years’ experience in the travel industry.  Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA.  Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations.  She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors.  An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.

HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 50 years.  He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA).  This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years.  He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees.   His other Certifications:

• AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist

• Viking River Cruise Specialist

• Scenic River Cruise Specialist

• Emerald Waterways Specialist

• Avalon Waterways Specialist

• Brit Agent

Armed Forces Day 2023

Armed Forces Day 2023

American Cemetery Omaha Beach Photo June 6 2014

This is a departure from our usual blog about travel to help recognize the contribution of our Armed Forces to our Nation.

As many of you know, I served for 20 years as an Infantry officer and was proud to help defend our country.

So, I thought I would provide you some facts about today’s military in my humble salute to the men and women who defend our country and perhaps help you remember the service and sacrifice of those who defend our freedom.

It is probably best to start by explaining the major military recognition celebrations in America and then concentrate on the Armed Forces Day.

There is a lot of confusion to the exact purpose of three major recognition days for all US military members and former members.  Armed Forces Day honors those currently serving in the military.  Memorial Day honors those who have died while on duty in the military services.  Veterans Day is a tribute to all who have previously served in our armed forces. 

Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the 3rd Saturday of May, as part of Armed Forces week.  It honors the Army, the Air Force, the new Space Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard.

The first 5 service branches are organized under the Department of Defense, while the Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security.  There are more than 1.4 million on active service and more than 1.1 million national guard and reservists. 

In 1949, Armed Forces Day was first established when the Army, Navy and Air Force were organized under the Department of Defense, instead of each service just marking their own individual recognition day.  The Marines did not come under this initial new holiday, and keep their separate celebration.  They later joined in.  In 1961, Armed Forces Day became a National Holiday. 

Each year Armed Forces Day has a unique theme—some past themes are Dedication and Duty, Freedom and Patriotism. 

Some Interesting Facts About our Armed Forces

The Department of Defense (DOD) is the largest employer in the US—there are about 1.4 million on active duty, 1.1 million serving in National guard and Reserve units and 700,00 civilians working in the DOD.

Here are the numbers of active duty—Army over 482,000; Navy over 343,000; Air Force over 328,000; Marine Corps over 179,000; Coast Guard over 44,000 and Space Force over 1,600.

Here are the numbers of reserve forces—Army National Guard over 337,000; Army Reserve over 184,000; Air National Guard over 108,000, Air Force Reserve over 70,000, Navy Reserve over 57,000, Marine Corp Reserve over 35,000 and about 7,000 in the Coast Guard Reserve..

31 of 44 Presidents served in the Military—30 were officers (James Buchanan was enlisted) and Teddy Roosevelt earned the Medal of Honor for action in the Spanish-American War.

Within 48 hours, the US Military is capable to reach any place on earth to provide disaster relief and international aid.

Only 28% of American aged 17-23 are eligible to serve in the military.

Many do not realize how few folks served in our military compared to the overall population--.4 percent (1,4 million are currently serving)

Our military is more educated than the general population.  99% of the military have successfully completed their high school education, while only 60% of the general population of the US have a high school diploma.

In many ways, the military has been leaders in our country by desegregating before other public institutions and opening full opportunities to women. 

My Final Thoughts

Words do not adequately honor those who served, suffered, died, were wounded and sometimes disabled—they are for the most part the best our society has among its citizens. 

They learned to work for a common goal, perform their assigned mission despite harsh conditions, sometimes under hostile fire and responded when no other organization could or would.

They are often deployed for long periods of time, away from their families, who support them during their long hours and often absences.  We must also remember their families who support their soldiers, sailors, and airmen.

Please just remember them—maybe attend a parade, display your flag, visit a cemetery, thank a member, or just think about a service member. 

Let’s be sure their bravery, strength and sacrifice do not go unnoticed—we owe a debt of gratitude to them and their families to help keep us safe.

Thanks for reading!

Henry Carl “Hank” Schrader, Jr Major (Infantry) Retired

Veterans Day 2022

Veterans Day 2022

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Retired US Army Major Infantry Officer

www.dreamdestinations.com

Tomorrow is Veteran Day, 11 November 2022. This is a day to recognize the service and sacrifice of the folks who pledged to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic” by raising their right hand and were required to recite these words of allegiance to our country.

Counting my 4 years at West Point, I spent 24 years of my life in a uniform and serving my country.  It was an awesome experience and I’m glad I made that choice.  It was a honor to serve our country.

Military service changes all who serve, and most aspects are positive.  We gained maturity quickly, learned many new skills, tested our resolve, became resilient, learned how to handle extreme stress and trauma, and made sacrifices to defend our country.  Not all of us handled it the same—some still have problems associated with their service.

It’s been 31 years since I served.  I went on to teach and coach for another 20 years before working full time in our travel business.  The lessons learned from my military experience govern all aspects of my life—character and action count more than words.

A phrase from the West Point cadet prayer has always been very meaningful to me, as it has served as a summary of how I wanted to live my life and I thought you might like to know about it.  Here it is

“Encourage us in our endeavor to live above the common level of life.  Make us choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole truth can be won.

Endow us with courage that is born of loyalty to all that is noble and worthy, that scorns to compromise with vice and injustice and knows no fear when truth and right are in jeopardy.”

Those are difficult goals to achieve and my personal guidelines to live by every day.  I have tried to and hope I have been successful but there is always room for improvement.

Just reading my thoughts and seeing how my service changed me, you can understand better how each who has donned the uniform might have developed in their lives.  They have done more than defend our country.  They usually set higher standards, have good work ethics, and make us a better nation.

Less than 1 % of the population of the US (0.727% in a Google search) are on active duty now.  According to the US Census Bureau, there are 18.2 million veterans.  AARP reports that about 13 million are 50 years or older like me.

We did not all serve under the same conditions.  My father served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.  I never served in a combat deployment.

While I can’t verify how totally accurate these numbers are, here are some reasonable figures for the personal cost of the 4 major wars including WW II from 1941 to present:

•   WW II 1.076,245 dead and wounded;

• Korea 128,650 dead and wounded;

• Vietnam 211,454 dead and wounded;

• the War on Terror (Afghanistan and Iraq Wars) 57,614 dead and wounded. 

  I think these sobering figures say how lucky my Dad was to survive 7 years of combat for our nation by being deployed in 3 of these 4 conflicts.

In many ways it is ironic the public perception of military service during my service.  At 18 years old as a cadet at West Point, I was called a “Baby Killer” by an angry group of Vietnam War protesters during the Armed Forces Parade in New York City in 1968.  Later, the comments were almost always positive.

I guess those who protest fail to realize soldiers seldom make the decision to go to war; it is our political leaders who declare war or deploy troops.  Yet we are the face of their decisions and a much more accessible target of public ire.  Perhaps those who feel this way should remember we are defending their freedoms to protest government decisions.

I would be remiss if I didn’t cite the families who support our soldiers.  It is a very personal journey; fear, and joy; never knowing if a loved one will come home each day.  They deserve to be honored also for their sacrifice and loyalty to our nation by supporting their soldiers during their military service.

As a tribute to those who have served and are now serving, I thought I’d share with you some photos of military service, some personal, and some honoring the sacrifice of those who fought for our freedom from our travels in Europe.

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial honors the American soldiers who died in WW II. This is the final resting place for 9,385 killed and a memorial for 1,557 reported missing.

The Ranger Monument at Pointe du Hoc erected by the French government. It is located atop a German bunker and commemorates the rangers scaling the 100 foot cliffs and seizing the gun emplacements on this point and later finding and disabling those artillery pieces.

Luxembourg American Cemetery. This photo was taken in 1989. 5,075 are buried here and it honors 371 reported missing.

My Dads’ Command Photo from Vietnam. He was the Brigade Commander of the 18th Engineer Brigade from 1969 to 1970.

My Dads’ graveside marker in Arlington National Cemetery.

Anne and I at Ft. Ord CA celebrating New Year’s Eve. I was the S1 (personnel officer) of 2nd Infantry Brigade of the 7th Infantry Division when this photo was taken.

I salute my brothers and sisters in arms—you have done well and deserve recognition on Veteran’s Day. 

Be safe and well—you have lived beyond the common level of life!

Henry Carl “Hank” Schrader, Jr.  Major, Infantry Retired

Hank in Panama in 1978. I was the company commander of B 4 20 Infantry (mechanized).

Veteran's Day 2021

Veteran’s Day 2021

Hank Schrader, USMA '71

As always during the week of 11 November, I write about Veteran’s Day.

In the past, I have written about my family members and service to our nation, about the history of Veteran’s Day and my West Point Class of 1971’s many contributions to the defense of our country.

This time I plan to write about the common bond soldiers share, some misunderstandings about service in the military but most of all a tribute to our service men and women during my lifetime.

So, let’s explore together and learn about my thoughts and experiences of the military during my lifetime!

Service during the Vietnam War

When I entered the military at 17 at West Point, the war in Vietnam was increasingly more on the minds of Americans.  We baby boomers were a restless lot, often represented by the rock music of the Summer of Love in 1967.  I spent the summer of love at Beast Barracks, learning the way of becoming a cadet and soldier.  I promise you, it was not a fun as many others of my age.

From 1968 on, the Vietnam War just tore the country apart.  There were huge protest marches, some violent incidents and sadly, some of our citizens took out their frustration with our government’s problems on the active duty soldiers.

I often tell a story about my Mom’s experience in 1970.  My Dad was the Commanding General of the 18th Engineer Brigade, as a one star general at that time, serving in Vietnam.  It was his third combat tour, having already served during WW II and Korea. I was a cadet at West Point.

My Dad’s Command Photo during his service in Vietnam. He had been promoted to a Major General when this photo was taken.

Our next door neighbor, was a junior in college, and asked my Mom if she could let a bunch of her friends stay at our home for an upcoming weekend.  Without thinking why they were visiting Liz, my Mom said sure.  Later in the day, she called up Liz and asked why so many were coming to visit.  They were there to protest the war in Vietnam.  She politely explained to Liz her husband was deployed and at war.

This story is a microcosm of events of that era—neighbors didn’t have the same beliefs and the service members and their families often suffered.  Some men wore wigs to hide their short hair.  Others were spat upon, or had items thrown on them.  Sometimes, service members were not permitted to wear their uniforms off base.  It was a sad state of affairs.

Transition from 1973 to 1980

Slowly the war faded from memory and the news.  By 1975, Vietnam was under Communist rule after North Vietnam fell.  The draft ended.  Gradually respect for the military returned but many questioned if all the loss of life of good soldiers was worth the effort in Vietnam.

We almost had to intervene in the Yom Kippur War in October of 1973 when Israel was attacked by Arab force (it was the 4th conflict between these two forces).  Trust me, there was a plan but we didn’t have to go.

But even in these transitional times, the military regrouped and confronted our advisories in Korea, and Europe.  Many soldiers stood watch at contested borders to ward off aggression of the Russians and North Korean forces.  There were many miserable days and nights as they stood watch and most of our citizens have no idea what they went through.  It is hard to comprehend for those living in comfort in the US.

Then the Iran Revolution of 1979 brought a significant change in the Middle East--the rise of Fundamentalism Islam rulers.  52 Americans were taken hostage and held until the 20 January Inauguration of our new President in 1981. 

Suddenly, the military was important to our country.  One of the plights of serving in the military is we are often ignored until trouble brews and then, like in the movies, we destroy our adversaries in a couple of days.  It is a common misconception and not the real world.  It is never as easy as you see in the movies.  Sometimes you get the fear, the lack of sleep, and the harsh conditions but seldom is it like the dirty world soldiers fight, die and operate in during conflicts.

On 24 April 1980, the military attempted a rescue, known as Operation Eagle Claw, where one civilian and 8 service members died.  Some of my class mates were part of that operation.  This is the real world—a risky operation that didn’t work but courageously carried out by a combined combat force of our service members. This is the real world soldiers live in during their service.

The 1980s

By now, the services were growing stronger with the all-volunteer services.  Units got better, equipment improved and doctrine was refined.

In one of the ultimate ironies, I was on the invasion list of Operation Just Cause, the invasion by the US of Panama to overthrow Noriega. Many of my classmates served in high ranking positions in the 7th ID (my unit), the 75th Rangers and the 82nd Airborne. I never deployed. So, what is the ironic fact—I was stationed 3 years in Panama and now I was going to invade a country I spent 3 years in the military!

Perhaps, no single event tells the story of that era like the fall of Berlin Wall.  It was the symbolic end of the Cold War.  I actually have a small concrete piece of the wall—not worth much money wise, but to me, it represents a lot.  We did our job.

The bricks in this road was where the Berlin Wall once stood

The Service Ethos

Another misconception, we are not braggarts, who love to tell war stories. It is my opinion, that most serve with little fanfare, do their duty and don’t really expect any real recognition except by their peers, or during extraordinary bravery, a medal.  To most, it is about their comrades and how they worked together, usually in harsh conditions, at the will of our civilian leaders.

 Many combat veterans really don’t revel in telling war stories—they are proud of what they did, but also realize the sacrifice of war, as many of their buddies didn’t come home.  They are not a number like you see on the news—they were people who had a family who will never be the same.  These folks never forget these losses.  You usually have to drag it out of them, as they prefer to not brag—it is a humble tribute to all for their collective efforts.  Many don’t understand why their buddies died and they were spared.

It is also about the bond that few really get to experience and it is why so many prior service folks are instantly comfortable with other military folks—they don’t have to explain their experiences, or worry about the barracks humor or exposing their real feelings because the others understand—they often feel the same. 

In the civilian world, they call it about protecting your friends back; in the military we call it protecting your 6—a reference to your 6 point of contact in a parachute landing, which is your butt!  We often use a lot of jargon, foreign to others, but quite meaningful to us.

We often do revel in telling funny stories about how we were in the wrong uniform, or got lost during training and fixed it, or just learn to accept our fate in the harsh training of boot camp or Beast Barracks at West Point. Molding service members into a cohesive unit often requires bizarre events in the life of a new soldier and they are so strange and memorable that they become great stories, sometimes embellished a little for even a little more dramatic effect.

The 1990s to 2021

We won a huge victory in the 1991 Gulf War with a coalition of 28 nations. The majority of the forces were American, but it was also the rise of more fundamental unrest in what many in the military call the sand countries (primarily Iran and Afghanistan) after we toppled the regime in Iran.  Suddenly, our country in mass seemed to respect our military.

On September 11, 2001, with the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, our country united and it lead to the invasion of Afghanistan. 

By 2003, we were at war again in the Second Persian Gulf War, which was largely a British-American invasion of Iraq.

20 years later, it seems we finally are at peace after surges, countless deployments, and a lot of lost soldiers.

The cost to these soldiers has been horrific—according to a report in NPR, we have lost 7,057 service members who died during military operations since 9/11.  During this same period, active duty and veterans of these conflicts have reached 4 times that number—it now stands at 30,177. 

This is a real struggle and I don’t have a real solution but many organizations and government programs are trying to address this serious problem.  Perhaps now you understand how stressful it is to serve in our nation’s military, especially at time of war.

My Final Thoughts

I hope in some small way I have communicated what it has been like in the military for the last 54 or so years.

As it has been said by others, we didn’t just read about history—we made it.

We protected our country, and obeyed the orders of our superiors and civilian leaders.

Most never sought much recognition—it is a quite pride of a job well done.  Many suffered and still are suffering.

We should do more to help them.

Every time you enjoy the wonderful life most of us live in this country, our freedoms, our rights, and the chance for a better life, just remember someone, somewhere is standing watch to protect us.  Many service members think it was and is an honor to serve our country.

On this Veteran’s Day, may we remember those who watch over us.  We should be proud of our protectors—it is not an easy job.

We still have many problems to solve but that is what a democracy is all about—trying to reach a consensus.  It is a messy process but you can feel assured about one thing—our armed forces are ready to protect us when needed.

I hope I have told their story in a way that will make you reflect on the true meaning of Veteran’s Day.

May we never forget to honor these brave men and women!

Maj (Ret.) Henry “Hank Carl Schrader, Jr

Thank You

By Hank Schrader

My regular Thursday blog is going to be very short this week. Anne and I are driving up to Dallas-Ft. Worth to attend the Army Air Force game in the Rangers home stadium.

I’ve been to countless Army football games but that is not the reason it will be special, even though it is against another service academy. We love each other 364 days a year except for 3 hours during the game—that’s what makes these rivalries so neat—we wind up defending our country together as brothers and sisters in arms.

My 1967 picture as a plebe (freshman) at West Point

It’s my class of 1971 West Point 50 year reunion. I’m sure I’ll see a few guys I haven’t seen in 50 years. That will be special and I owe a lot of them thanks. We laughed, cried suffered, triumphed and managed to make it through 47 months together from 1967 to 1971.

We quickly learned to help one another just to survive. I owe a great deal of thanks to those who helped me and pushed me to get better.

The same goes for my Army career. An Army Officer never does it alone—you lead but it is a team and I owe a great deal to the officers, NCOs and soldiers I served with in my 20 years. Many shaped me, helped me and trusted me the lead them and helped me grow and become a better person and soldier.

Along the way, I have another person to say thank you to—my lovely wife Martha Anne Schrader. Growth comes from partnership, trust and her unwavering way of challenging me. I often seem to fight it but she is about 99.9% right. Thank you dear—I often need it and you have given my life purpose. In short, you Rock! I try to say thank you every day to her but I’m sure I missed a few, so to make up thanks for making my life better.

Next my school and coaching career. No finer thing can be said about teaching and coaching—you influence lives but again they all must trust you and allow you to help them grow up. Thanks for giving me the chance to teach and coach—we did it together but you had to let me have the chance.

Last but not least, thank you to all who have trusted us with their vacations. You have made our business great but it has always been a team effort.

We should all say thank you more. I’m sure I’ll miss saying it to someone I should have this weekend.

Maybe they will read this and remember I meant to say it but didn’t.

Again, thanks to all! I will try hard to say in person to everyone I see this weekend, but if I miss you know I still thank you! If you only read it—that’s OK also!

Please say thank you to someone today to make up for those I missed along the way!

THANK YOU TO All!!

Hank

14 June--Flag Day and the US Army Birthday

14 June—Flag Day and the US Army Birthday

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

www.dreamdestinations.com

This June 2021 is a milestone year for me.  On June 9, 1971 I graduated from West Point after 47 grueling months.

This next week on Monday, 14 June we will celebrate the 246 years of the US Army serving and defending our country.  It also is the US Flag Day.

So, this week, I thought I’d tell you a little bit about these 3 events and their impact on my life.

West Point 1967 thru 1971

Graduating on 9 June 1971.

On 9 June 1971, I stood with my classmates and took the oath to “support and defend the Constitution of United States against of all enemies, foreign and domestic” during my commissioning ceremonies in the morning of 9 June 1971.  I was fortunate to have my father, then a Major General and recently returned from Vietnam, swear me in with the oath that all officers take.  I was now a commissioned 2LT, as an Infantry Officer. 

I was 17 when I reported to attend West Point. This is my 4th class year picture (freshman year).

My cadet days were a struggle of rigorous academics in the engineering subjects, relative success in languages, social sciences and my favorite subject, physical education. 

My success at West Point in many ways was connected to being a varsity track athlete, as a long sprinter in the 440 yard dash.  I earned 5 letters, a few medals in competition , but it was the closeness of the team and how important track was to me that help me overcome my academic studies difficulties and graduate. 

On the way to earning my first Army A letter in 1969 in the indoor tract meet against Navy. I ran at about 155-160 lbs in those days!

Handing off in the mile relay in 1970 against Navy in the Army Navy Track meet. In all varsity sports, if your team beats Navy, you get a gold star to wear under your varsity letter. In my 3 years on varsity track (under the old rules freshman could not compete on the varsity) we never lost to Navy and I proudly wore 5 gold stars under my Army A letter.

I would return in 1981-1984 to West Point to teach physical education and help coach the cadet rugby team.

In 1983, as a coach on the Army Rugby team, we took the A side to England to play the the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst Rugby team. I am on the right , second to last in the front row.

My lifetime has been always associated with the Army in some form—it started as an Army Brat (my Dad was a career officer), as you read above I went to West Point and returned to teach in the physical education department. 

I served 20 years in the Army and once a soldier, always a soldier—I have tried to help in various military organizations and causes since my retirement.  It was an honor to serve.

50 years ago—in many ways a long time but most of all it seems as it was just yesterday.

So, I guess it is just fitting to tell you about the significance of 14 June in my life.

US Army Birthday

First, the US Army Birthday deserves recognition.  On 14 June 1775, the Continental Congress authorized expert riflemen to serve the United States Colonies for one year.  Another act on that day was special for me also, as the first and only branch authorized that day was the Infantry—my branch.  Other branches were authorized on 16 June 1775 but my branch was first.

It was a difficult task that faced the members of the Second Continental Congress in 1775. 

On 19 April 1775, the American Revolution had begun with the engagement at Lexington and Concord, a local rebellion of New Englanders against the British.  They surrounded the British troops that occupied Boston and appealed to the delegates of the 13 colonies for help. 

The delegates also learned that Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold had taken the British forts of Ticonderoga and Crown Point.  It no longer was a local rebellion, the military action had changed the situation.

They decided to take the next step by establishing the Continental Army and transformed a local war of rebellion into a war of independence for the entire 13 colonies.  They resolved to “raise 6 companies of expert rifleman immediately from Pennsylvania, 2 from Maryland and 2 from Virginia and, as soon as completed, shall march and join the army near Boston, to be there employed as light infantry, under command of the Chief Officer in that army”.

The US Army and the Infantry Branch were born on that June day.  On this Monday 14 June 2021 both the US Army and the Infantry Branch will be 246 years old.

So, how many serve today in the Army?  The active Army has about 480,900 in an all-volunteer force.  There are also around 336,000 in the Army National Guard and 188,700 in the Army Reserves. 

To all of you who have donned the US Army Uniform, thank you for serving our country—there is no doubt in my mind you have made it possible for us to enjoy the freedoms that come from living in America!

Happy Birthday US Army!

June 14—Flag Day

The French and American flags in front of each grave in the American cemetery in Normandy, France on 5 June 2014. The French have never forgotten we came to help liberate them on D Day 6 June 1944.

Flags have been used throughout history as a way to identify military groups, ships, states and provinces, and nations.  The most popular use of flags is to symbolize a country or nation.  These symbols represent the pride of a nation and are used in times of celebration, protest and tragedy to express the feelings of the nation.  Perhaps no one item can so eloquently capture the spirit of a country.

Our Flag and Flag Day

When our flag was adopted, it was created by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.  The resolution stated that the flag "be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."  So, that is how the Stars and Strips was officially created and described by our forefathers.

There were several attempts to recognize our flag, especially after the Civil War, but it did not receive official recognition until 1916, by a Presidential Proclamation.  It is not a national holiday but a day of observance to recognize the creation and importance of our flag.  In 1949, by an Act of Congress, National Flag Day was created.

We all seem to know a lot about our flag and its meaning, but it got me thinking about flags in Europe.  Here are some facts about European Flags, I hope you will find interesting.

Some Interesting Europe Flags

Dannebrog

According to Wikipedia, the Dannebrog (translated to Danish Cloth), the national flag of Denmark, is the oldest national flag still in use.  This flag was adopted in 1478.  The cross design has been adopted by the Scandinavian flags of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland. 

The flag of Norway, is an adaptation of the Dannebrog.

The oldest national flags often use the cross. Here are some examples:

Swiss National Flag

The Scottish Flag—one of the oldest used in Europe.

The Union Jack

Probably the most recognized flag in the world, the Union Jack is a combination of three flags: England, Wales, and Scotland and their patron saints.  It was first flown on ships, hence the nickname Jack, refers to a ship mounted flag.  The flag dates to 1606.  Due the large colonial British Empire, it is the most common flag in the world, and is included in some form on 23 flags.

The Union Jack flies over Parliament in London, England

In Guilford, England another example of the Union Jack that flies over the castle ruins.

Tricolor Flags of Europe

There are two types of tricolor flags.  They are vertical and horizontal designs.  Tricolor flags are associated with republics, liberty and revolution.  The French, Italian Romanian and Irish flags were all created on the formation of republics in those countries.  Here are some of our favorite pictures of Tricolor flags:

Vertical Tricolor Flag

Belgium Flag in Antwerp, Belgium

The Italian National Flag at the Victor Emmanuel Monument, Rome Italy.

The French Flag on display in Bratislava, Slovakia at the French consulate with a whimsical Napoleon gazes at the square.

Horizontal Tricolor Flags

The Croatian Flag flies over the walled city of Dubrovnik

The German Flag on display in Berlin in front of the Reichstag

Ship sailing on the rivers display the flag of the country they sail through. This is, of course, the German Flag on an AmaWaterways rivership.

To my knowledge, there are only two countries that have the exact same flag.  They are Romania and Chad.

The Romania Flag in Brasov

The Flag of Turkey

The flag of Turkey, in many ways, recognizes the importance of the old Ottoman Empire.  It is very similar to the last flag of the Ottoman Empire.  The modern flag of Turkey is also has been the inspiration for flags of other Muslim countries.  The crescent and star on the flag is a symbol of Islam.

The Turkish National Flag on display in Istanbul

It is quite common in Europe to display multiple flags. Here are some examples

The flags from left to right, Athens City Flag, the Greek National Flag and the EU flag (hard to see the stars on the EU flag) in Athens

Flags in Lucerne, Switzerland. The Blue Flag is the Canton Flag of Lucerne. The red flag is an adaptation of the Swiss National Flag.

Flags in front of the Sacher Hotel in Vienna. From right to left, European Union, Austrian National Flag, the Union Jack and the American Flag.

Flags in Vukovar, Croatia at a war memorial. From left to right, EU flag, Croatian National Flag and the town flag of Vukovar.

National Coats of Arms

In Europe especially, there are often flags that display a national coat of arms. A flag of a country represents its population; the national coat of arms represents the government. These are displayed in different forms, sometimes on a flag, but usually on a building or perhaps a coin.

Here are just a few we have seen on our travels in Europe:

The national coat of arms on the Matthias Church window, in the Buda portion of Budapest, Hungary.

Presidential version Standard in Prague, Czech Republic The moto translated means “Truth Prevails”

The double eagle crest. The double eagle is the symbol of power and domination and used by empires. It was most notably used by the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the Ausrto-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire. This crest is in Austria

The Double Eagle in gold at Peterhof in Russia—of course the czar would settle for anything less that gold on the crest.

My Final Thoughts

Nations and their borders are created by man.  Most counties have a strong sense of national identity, with ethnic groups that have common languages, religions and customs and traditions. 

Some of these countries have been created peacefully but many are a result of war or struggles of independence.  Flag Day makes me proud to be an American.  It makes me prouder yet to have served our country—Happy Birthday to the US Army and more importantly to all who have served. 

It also makes me recognize there are many other wonderful folks who live in other nations and it inspires me to want to visit Europe more often.  I want to be a good representative of our country and have more European experiences. 

We hope this will inspire you to remember who were are as Americans, remember the importance of our flag and what it represents, and honor the US Army. 

We also need to recognize many of our traditions and ideas came from Europe and by traveling to these places, we learn about our similarities and hopefully learn to embrace our differences. 

We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise specialists, and Europe destination experts.  We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe.  We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you.  We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.

When you are spending your hard-earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip.  You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience.  And, you want someone who can help you with the decision making process.  We think we have all these qualities.

Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you!  We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel.  Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com.  We want to help you:  Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations!  Your journey begins here!

HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 50 years.  He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA).  This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years.  He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees.   His other Certifications:

• AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist

• Viking River Cruise Specialist

• Scenic River Cruise Specialist

• Emerald Waterways Specialist

• Avalon Waterways Specialist

• Brit Agent

Memorial Day 2021

Memorial Day 2021

By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71

www.dreamdestinations.com

Perhaps the most misunderstood holiday in our country is Memorial Day.  Memorial Day honors those who have died while on duty in the military services. 

However, I am sad to say few folks understand the significance of this solemn day of remembrance.  For many people in our country, it is the start of summer and a way to gather with friends and families for a break from work.  It is also about selling and buying for many—deals are offered in a dizzying amount to all of us. 

Somehow, to me, the whole patriotic purpose has been pushed into the background.  It should be a little somber, about fallen comrades, but I guess that with less than 1% of our nation who have served in the Armed Forces, it is understandable.  Maybe the best way for folks to understand is the loss of a family member—there is an emptiness that never goes away.  We who have served feel the same way about our lost comrades.

Many will say to others—“Happy Memorial Day”, thinking it is an accurate way to say thanks.  It really is not a happy time—it is more about refection and recognizing there is something in life more important than a happy holiday.  It doesn’t mean we should not express some joy during Memorial Day—just let’s express the joy about those fallen lives and remember them for their sacrifice and the good times we got to share with them.  Their loved ones and comrades feel their loss every day but especially on this day and we should also pay our respects, even if for just a couple of minutes or so.

The Memorial Day holiday has its origins from the end of the US Civil War—it was originally called Decoration Day.  Although the correct purpose of this holiday is to recognize those who actually died while on active service, for most American it also includes those who served their country and have passed on.  I know I personally honor my Dad on this Day, even though he did not die on active duty but later in life after his retirement.  He was lucky—he served in 3 wars and made it out alive.  Many he served with did not.

In some functions in the military, especially formal dinners, we always toast our fallen.  Almost all who have served, know a comrade who made the ultimate sacrifice.  It is deeply personal—usually a vibrant life taken way too soon.  One of my classmates, a 3 star general, always carried a notecard with every soldier’s name who died during his command assignment in Iraq wherever he went.  He told me it was a constant reminder of decisions he made during combat came with costs, and those costs were soldier’s lives.  It is not an easy profession, leaders very often put their soldiers in harm’s way—it is unavoidable but necessary to accomplish the mission.

Maybe as a tribute to these fallen, I will tell you most often they reflected in their wartime service, the values of Army soldiers.  These values are: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage.  While these are the official Army’s values, maybe they should be our national values.  There would be no better way to honor these soldiers, if we could all live our daily lives embodying some or all of these values.

This is a hard blog to write—the sheer numbers are staggering from the 5 major conflicts from WW II to present that have affected my 71 years on this earth.  According to Wikipedia, combat deaths were:

WW II (1941-1945)                                                    291,557;

Vietnam War (1955-1975)                                        47,434;

Korean War (1950-1953)                                           33,686;

Iraq War (2003-2011)                                                4,424;

The War in Afghanistan (2001 to present)               1,833.

This does not count the other operations during my lifetime or the American Civil War and World War I.  From 1775 to 2019, there is a total loss of 666,441+ by combat deaths and 673,929+ by other causes during these war periods.  It also does not count the missing 44,031+ missing or the 1,498,240+ wounded.

Despite this tragic tale, most of these fallen are buried in our national cemeteries in the United States and Overseas and are the symbol to us of their sacrifice.  These places are dignified and respectful. 

The American Cemetery in Normandy, France

The American Cemetery in Luxembourg

It is like Arlington Cemetery, where my father and mother are buried—they use similar markers for each deceased, regardless of rank, but each has his or her legacy engraved on the markers, including their war time service and highest military decorations.  It is a very fitting tribute to their service of our nation.

My Dad’s Grave marker in Arlington National Cemetery

June 9, 2021 will be the 50 year anniversary of my graduation from West Point.  I never served personally in our declared conflicts in a war zone but shared the grief of loss of too many I personally served with.  They upheld the Army Values and I remember them, as do others who served with them.  The helped make our country a better place and deserve our respect and thanks.

Maybe this would be a good day to reach out to someone who has lost a soldier that you know—I promise you it will be meaningful to those left behind.

My Final Thoughts

While researching this blog, I realized how many members of our Armed Forces scarified their lives against nations determined to defeat us and impose their will upon our country. 

I hope you will take a few minutes to reflect on this monumental effort and the cost to many who made the ultimate sacrifice. 

They deserved to be remembered and honored.  I hope this blog did them justice and I hope you will remember them also. 

May we never forget—be thou at peace to each who gave so much for our country.

Hank Schrader, Major (Infantry) USA Ret. 

Veteran's Day 2020

Veteran’s Day 2020--Thanks for Keeping Our Country Safe!

By Henry Carl “Hank” Schrader, Jr. Maj (ret), Infantry

On Tuesday 10 November 2020, I got an e-mail from a classmate of mine to ask if I could provide him some information about the achievements of our 1971 graduating class from West Point.  He is going to be the featured speaker at Branch Night at West Point on 2 December 2020.  This is where the members of the Class of 2021 will find out their branch assignments upon graduation and commissioning in the United States Army.

So, this got me thinking, I really should provide a tribute to my classmates.

Our Class Coin

This is something very personal—nothing has had as much impact on my life as serving in the military, attending West Point, and having members of my family serve in the military. 

Since about 1940 or so, someone related to me has served our country and help keep it safe.

To all of you who read this and served in the military, thank you for your service—most will never know how much you contributed to the well-being of our country and keeping it safe. 

So, I thought I’d tell you a little about the folks who keep our country safe and send my humble thanks to them in recognition of Veterans Day 2020.

A Little History about Veterans Day

Veteran’s Day is celebrated on 11 November each year.  The significance of this date commemorates the end of the fighting in WW I.  For students of history, like me, we like to say “on the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month the guns fell silent”—an easy way to remember the exact date and time of the end of hostilities of WW I in 1918. 

This original celebration has changed in America from an Armistice Day observance into Veterans Day, the holiday that we celebrate today. 

Veterans of all our military forces should be recognized for keeping our country safe and this blog is a tribute to all who have honorably served our country.

Veterans have taken a simple Oath with a Huge Impact

Everyone who serves in the military takes an oath at a swearing in ceremony.  They all swear to defend the country by these words, or similar words

“I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same”

While this not the entire oath, it is the key part—these folks are the front line of defending our way of life—pledging allegiance to the USA, and our Constitution. 

Too many have paid the ultimate sacrifice with their life to make our country safe—they are special people who put others first—we have lost one member of my class in defense of our country.

For the vast majority, all the good traits that come from military service never leaves them.  It is no wonder I am always drawn to these folks.

Our Family Service Traditions

Anne’s Dad, Alfred W Ludtke, served in World War II, as an officer of Gen MacArthur’s personal staff in the Philippines.  After the war, he continued his service in the reserves and rose to the rank of LTC.  Thank you A. W. for your service and sacrifice for country!

My dad, Major General (retired) Henry Carl Schrader, served for 33 years.  He defended our country in WW II in Europe, was in the Korean War and last served in combat in Vietnam--a little over 7 years in combat.  He was an engineer officer—loved to build things and he was excellent at it.  You are my hero and inspiration Dad!

My Dad’s Command Photo in Vietnam 1970

Neither of these two brave men are with anymore—rest in peace—you made the world a better place.

My Dad’s headstone at Arlington National Cemetery

I served for 20 years as an infantry officer.

My nephew Lance, served in the Army as part of the 10th Mountain Division in Bosnia.  After his military service, he continues to serve our nation as first a police officer and now a fireman.

Hank, Lance (in his fire inspector uniform), Dalton and Mindy

My niece, Mindy Kay is on active duty in the Air Force. 

Mindy

Dalton with his Mom after the commissioning ceremony

I had the honor in May of last year of helping continuing the family tradition by swearing in 2nd LT Dalton Andrews, Mindy’s son, during his graduation ceremonies from North Texas State University.  He has started his active duty service as an Artillery Officer in January 2020.

Thanks for your service—you three young ones have made me proud (you can say those things when you are 71)—you helped and are helping to keep our country safe!

My West Point Class of 1971

Sometimes, the best way to describe how our country’s veterans help keep our country safe is to use examples from your own experience.  Here are some of our class achievements (the data is about 95% to 99% accurate and any errors or omissions are mine alone but it still tells a great story of our class impact on the United States):

We graduated 729 men in our class of 1971.

According to our yearbook, here are the branches our classmates began their military service in:  Air Defense Artillery 64; Adjutant General 4; Armor 81; Artillery Branch 148; Chemical Corps 1; Engineer 47; Finance 1; Infantry 243, Military Intelligence 33; Military Police 12; Medical Service 6; Ordnance 2; Signal 47; Transportation 7; and Quartermaster 1. 

18 went into the Air Force and 3 joined the Navy.  We had five foreign national cadets who returned to their countries.

We had 296 who retired from the armed forces, active or reserve (they served 20 years or more unless medically retired).  Here is a breakdown of ranks achieved: 

21 General officers {(3 Generals (4 stars--all foreign armies); 6 LTGs (3 stars), 6 MG (2 stars) and 6 BG (1 star)}; (one was an Air Force BG)

85 COL; 128 LTC; 30 MAJ; 1 CPT and 2 CAPTs in the Navy, (equivalent rank to an Army COL).

In the 5 to 40 years or so that the 729 members of my West Point graduating class of 1971 were on active duty, they helped keep the country safe by serving in 7 major conflicts. 

Here is a list of those conflicts and the number of the class serving during these conflicts: Vietnam (12), Granada (2), Panama (9; 4 were Battalion Commanders), The Gulf War (26, 13 were Battalion Commanders), Bosnia (4, 1 was a Commanding General), Afghanistan (6, 2 were Commanding Generals) and Iraq (10, 3 were Commanding Generals). 

For me, who did not serve in any of these conflicts, it is humbling to say the least. 

They are perfect examples of selfless sacrifice—in the military you go where you are ordered to go.  There are no excuses, you have a duty and an obligation.  These guys are the rock stars of our class and I salute them!

We had 130 return to teach or support operations at West Point (some twice), to include 2 back-to-back Superintendents, and one was the Dean.  2 were Department Heads of Instruction (Math, and Law)

Six members of our class have been selected as Distinguished Graduates.  The Association of Graduates (AOG) has only recognized three foreign nationals as Distinguished Grads and we have two of them in our class.  Only three classes have six Distinguished Grads – 1950, 1951, and 1971.  The Class of 1956 has seven.

Our class has some impressive members who have served in the Federal Government.  They include: a US Senator; an Ambassador at Large, Department of State Coordinator for Counterterrorism; an Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics; an Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel & Manpower; an Acting Director, Federal Transportation Administration; a person who served in the Department of State, an Administrator, US International Development; 2 Senior Executive Services federal employees; and 3 working in Department of Veterans Affairs.

At the local government level we have 2 state representatives, 2 mayors, a county supervisor, 2 state judges, and several who have served in various state and city level departments.

We have 21 medical doctors in a variety of specialties, 6 dentists and 1 veterinarian.

Almost all members of the class have earned at least one or more post graduate degrees.  We have 17 who have earned PHDs in disciplines other than the medical field (28 total in the medical fields)—a total of 35.

We have 25 who are lawyers (probably more) and many CEOs of various sized companies and enterprises.

Several hold patents, and have written books.

We have one Olympian – Lyle Nelson (Biathlon) who represented his country 4 times—holds record for most appearances in Olympics by any West Point grad.  We have one member of the class in the Army Sports Hall of Fame and he is also in the US Lacrosse National Hall of Fame.

I think it is fair to say in the soon to be 50 years since we graduated, our class has helped to make the United States a better place from the service and achievements by members of the class of 1971.

You have truly achieved a multitude of service to the nation!  As the class moto says it has truly been “Professionally Done”.

A Quick Salute to Those Who Have Trusted Their Travels to Us

After all, this is a travel blog, so here are the 71 folks who have traveled with us: Steve Marsh, John Howard, Jim West, Jerry Wright, John Bantsolas, Jeff Rock, Gerry Cummins, Gordy Schnabel, Jack Pingle, Art Baker, Danton Steele, Gerry James, Ken Hartlein, Marc Erlandson, Jim Buck, Tom Mannle, Bill Barkovic, Jack Chiles. Bob Fitton, Bill Mattfeld, Bruce Litwin, Glen Barefoot and Dave Hardman.  We also have 2 more classmates who have trips planned with us in the future.  Thanks to my 25 classmates that put their trust in us!

Here are some photos of their trips:

Jim, Tom, Hank and Bill are classmates

Hank, Jane and Len (‘75), Jim and Maureen (class of ‘71)

from left to right, Rand, Steve (‘71) and Barbara, Jim and Cindy, and John 2015 AmaWaterways River Cruise

Mary and Jack ‘71 at Angkor Watt in 2016

2016 AmaWaterways Cruise. On the far right John (‘71)

Kris and Marc my classmate

Jeff and Hank 2018 on an AmaWaterways cruise

Some of our 2019 D Day Tour Group. In the picture Gerry C, Jack P, Art B, Gerry J, and Jerry W. Not in the picture Gordy S all from ‘71.

Irene and John (‘71) on our 2019 AmaWaterways Cruise

Jerry (71) and Mary

Our Family Support Groups

We should also recognize the families of our veterans—they also serve, maybe not directly, but they contribute behind the scenes and often make it possible for our vets to complete their missions.  It is a rough life—separations, no notice deployments, constantly changing family situations that they must navigate often with little help. 

There is a constant worry something will go wrong—the military is a dangerous business whose members often go in harm’s way even when just training.  Stress and coping with stress is a way of life.  Trust me, it is not easy.

Anne supported me 100% while at Fort Ord and until my retirement. Here is a picture of us before we were married at Fort Ord.

Here is just one example of the behind the scenes work of families (there are so many other examples I can’t tell you all of them but this one is personal)--the Arlington Ladies.

My Mom served as an Arlington Lady. 

My Mom and Dad’s Wedding Photo in 1942

Another photo of my parents

My Mon in 2004 by her Kentucky Christmas Tree

For those who do not know what an Arlington Lady is, every soldier who is buried at Arlington National Cemetery has a volunteer lady, who attends the service, to let our service members know their service is recognized and they are not buried alone.  This is especially important for those who have sacrificed and may not have family members present.  The ladies present cards of condolence to the next of kin from the military service chief and spouse on behalf of the service family, and from the Arlington Lady herself.  One of the duties, is to try and remain composed, but after the ceremony, most of these ladies, cry their eyes out when alone—I know my Mom often did.  I’m sure many think it could be me next getting the condolence card about a family member. 

For these ladies, Memorial Day happened more than once a year—it happened every time they came to Arlington National Cemetery for a funeral.

I also know several wives of my 71 classmates have also served as Arlington Ladies.

They too, like all family members, deserve to hear “Thanks for keeping our country safe”

A Final Thought

Of all the services our government provides its citizens, there is none more important that defense of our nation and our way of life. 

Today, less than 0.05% of our nation’s citizens are serving our country in the Armed Forces. 

These men and women, deserve more than thanks for their service.  Maybe next time you meet a veteran, why not say something like this “Thanks for keeping our country Safe!”

Trust me, those who have served will appreciate it more than you could ever understand—why not tell a vet or his family that you know your freedom and safety depends on those who serve?

For me it was an honor to serve and most vets I know feel the same way—they are proud and humble, who did what was required and made sacrifices for the common good.

To all my fellow veterans and their families and especially my 1971 West Point Classmates—Thanks for keeping our country safe!

Hank

The Significance of American Independence Day 4 July 1776

The Significance of American Independence Day 4 July 1776

By Hank Schrader, USMA ‘71

www.dreamdestinations.com

As you know, Saturday 4 July 2020 is our Independence Day.  In a bold move on 4 July 1776, the 13 Colonies declared their independence from British rule.

We now celebrate Independence Day as the day the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.

The Declaration of Independence has 3 important parts.  First, is the goals of our nation.  Second, is the complaints about British rule, especially against King George III.  Third, why the 13 Colonies wanted to be free of British rule.

We had been at war for a year when the Continental Congress adopted and signed the Declaration of Independence, expressing our desire to become an independent nation.

The best known part of this document is in the Preamble.  Among other statements, it declares that the authority to govern belongs to the people; all people are created equal; and we have unalienable rights—among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The document also states it is the right of the people to alter or abolish a form of government that does not come from the consent of the governed.

It ends with the words that the 56 undersigned delegates pledges “our Lives, our Fortunes and our Scared Honor”.

Words have meaning and these may be some of the most important words ever written about the form of governing the citizens of a nation.

We hope you give a few minutes of thought about these words and the principles of our nation.

Anne and I wish you a Happy Independence Day. 

Hank Schrader Graduation from West Point 9 June 1971

HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 49 years.  He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA).  This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years.  He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees.  His other Certifications:

• AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist

• Viking River Cruise Specialist

• Scenic River Cruise Specialist

• Emerald Waterways  Specialist

• Avalon Waterways Specialist

• Brit Agent

Pointe du Hoc--Rangers Lead the Way!

Pointe du Hoc--Rangers Lead the Way

By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

www.dreamdestinations.com

The crossing was rough—the weather was stormy and the seas were not kind to the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions.  Most could not get any sleep, as the dread of an upcoming mission along with the rough seas made them restless.  It is always that way before critical missions—no amount of training and preparation could ease their minds—they were going Pointe du Hoc to destroy an artillery battery on the top of a 100 foot cliff.

The capture of Pointe du Hoc was considered critical to the overall invasion plan.  It was clearly one of the most dangerous areas of Normandy—high ground with good fields of fire and hard to capture during a raid.  The 155 mm cannons could fire upon the landing zones of Utah and Omaha with devastating effect on the invading force.  It had to be neutralized.

Pointe du Hoc was defended by elements of the 716th and 352d Infantry Divisions, along with artillerymen--it became a heavily fortified bastion for the Wehrmacht as part of the Atlantic Wall.  Approximately 200+ German troops (125 infantry and 85 artillery men) were garrisoned in or around the Point du Hoc position.

Site Map Pointe du Hoc

The rangers had to take this defensive area or the whole D Day mission might fail.

This is the story of the Ranger mission during the D Day battle.

An Obstacle too Difficult to Take from the Sea

The Pointe du Hoc cliffs were considered too difficult to scale under combat conditions.  This point of view was firmly held by the Germans.  And, not surprisingly, most American military commanders also thought it was a suicide mission. 

A good view of Pointe du Hoc. From our 2019 Tour.

The east side of Pointe du Hoc where the rangers landed on 6 June 1944

Yet, it was vital to the success of the overall invasion scheme.  The 100 foot cliffs were almost 90 degrees from the base to the top.

The sheer cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. Notice the narrow landing area. It is easy to understand why the Germans believed it was not feasible to attack from the sea. This is from our 2014 tour.

The Germans planned the defense on the land bridge of Pointe du Hoc facing away from the sea by concentrating their forces for an inland assault.  They developed a defensive position consisting of heavily fortified concrete casements interlaced with tunnels, trenches, and machine-gun positions around the perimeter.

The Germans lightly defended the approach from the sea—they though it would be easy to stop invaders trying to climb the cliffs with just a few defenders.

Pointe du Hoc from our 2014 Tour

Rudder’s Rangers

Site Sign at Point du Hoc

On the fateful day, Lt. Col James Rudder led 225 men in an assault on the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. 

But to understand this superb combat unit, we must return to the days of 1943, where Rudder formed the Rangers.  The 2nd Ranger Battalion was activated on April 1, 1943 at Camp Forrest, Tullahoma, Tennessee.  They were volunteer units.  Each soldier had to possess superb physical qualities and sharp mental skills.  They also trained in Florida.  Each ranger became skilled in all types of weapons, hand-to-hand combat and handling difficult terrain.  The unit was deployed to Scotland next.  Here they trained on scaling cliffs and trained with British Commandos. 

The rangers were organized into 6 line companies, A to F per battalion sized units.  Each company consisted of 65 men and 3 officers.  The companies were organized into 2 platoons.

The Plan

The plan was for part of the 2nd Ranger Battalion to assault the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc at 0630 and take possession of the German position by 0700.  This group was named Force A. 

Force A had 3 ranger companies in the task organization.  Company D was to scale the cliffs from the west; Companies E and F were to scale the cliffs from the east.  They would then destroy the cannons once on top of Pointe du Hoc.  After destroying the weapons, they were to establish a defensive perimeter on Pointe du Hoc and prevent the Germans from moving reinforcements down the coastal highway that connected Grandcamp and Vierville. 

The rangers were to hold the ground until relieved by the 116th Infantry Division.  Relief was scheduled for noon on 6 June 1944.

Force B, Charlie Company of the 2nd Rangers, was to assault and capture the area on the far right flank of the Omaha Beach on exit D-1.  Their objective was Pointe de la Percée. 

Force C, was comprised of the entire 5th Ranger Battalion, along with A and B companies of the 2nd Rangers.  Here were their missions: 

1). If the initial landing force failed, Force C was designated to assault and capture Pointe du Hoc, by landing at Omaha and moving inland to take Pointe du Hoc. 

Or

2) If the mission of Force A was successful, they were scheduled to also land at Pointe du Hoc as reinforcements, assuming the objective was taken by 0700. 

A Landing that Started Off Wrong

At 0445 the rangers of Force A were loaded into landing crafts that held 22 men per landing craft.  They men and supplies were loaded into 10 landing craft and 4 DUKW's amphibious vehicles.  As they approached the beachhead, they were 3 miles off course, and LTC Rudder realized the error—they were headed to Pointe de la Percée, the objective of Force B.

This a DUKW landing craft. LTC Rudder’s had 4 mechanical ladders ready to use in the assault.

The landing craft had to travel exposed back to the correct landing site.  By the time they arrived at the objective, 1 landing craft and 2 DUKW’s were sunk. 

They were due to start their assault at 0630, but the currents and navigation errors delayed the landing until 0710.  Since the plan called for the assault to begin at 0630, the naval bombardment stopped at 0625.  This allowed the Germans to regroup and take up some defensive positions.

The Germans, however, were slow to reorganize, and this aided the assault.

The first landing crafts made it to Pointe du Hoc at 0710.  Their landing area was only 30 yards wide and the tide was rising.  There was no time to assault from both the west and east sides of Pointe du Hoc—they all had to go up the cliffs from the east side. 

Some equipment was not useable.  The 75-foot mechanized ladders mounted on the amphibious vehicles couldn’t get into positions to be used—it was too slippery for the tracks to get into position (there were only 2 available as they were transported by the DUKW’s and 2 were already sunk).  They had lost ammo supplies.  Ropes, men, radios and all their other equipment were soaked.

The only thing in their favor—the intense shelling and bombing had caused some of the cliff face to collapse into rubble piles.  In a few places, the climb would only be 60 feet.

The rangers were going to scale the cliffs under their own power using ropes and rope ladders.

Over the Top and Success of Force A

Scaling the cliffs was one of the most impressive military feats ever successfully accomplished by a US unit in combat.  Companies D, E and F landed and scaled the cliffs by using rocket-fired grappling hooks attached to ropes.  They developed the scaling techniques primarily by trial and error during their training sessions.  Their training was intense and it paid off—under pressure and enemy fire these soldiers responded, despite incredible odds against their success. 

The landing problems resulted in an assault only from the east side of Pointe du Hoc.  Some of the soaked ropes didn’t reach the top, but finally some worked correctly.  They only had 15 casualties in the initial assault.  The German defenders cut ropes, threw potato mashers and fired on the exposed soldiers.  The rangers countered with mortar fire and small arms fire at the German positions above.  Also 2 US destroyers fired their guns effectively at the cliff side German defenders.

5 minutes after landing, some rangers were already on top of the cliffs.  Within 15 minutes of landing, the majority of Rudder’s assault force had made it on top of Pointe du Hoc. 

Once up top, small groups of rangers went off to accomplish their missions.  They were stunned by the results of the bombardments—one soldier said it looked like the craters of the moon.  It looked nothing like the mock-ups and photos of the site.

Crater at Pointe du Hoc

A really good view of the bomb damage craters at Pointe du Hoc

But the biggest surprise was that the 155 mm cannons were missing—the Germans had placed painted telephone poles in the concrete bunkers to fool the aerial reconnaissance.  The German ruse had worked. 

Each gun position had been assigned a number and the rangers knew their primary mission was to destroy the position assigned to their unit.  Now they had to find the missing cannons.

This gun bunker was still under construction and not yet completed.

A bunker at Pointe du Hoc.

This is the Observation Post Bunker at Pointe du Hoc. It is the present day site of the Ranger Bayonet Monument on top of the bunker

One of the hardened gun positions at Pointe du Hoc.

Artillery Position #4 position at Pointe du Hoc

Artillery Position # 5

Gun Position # 6 Pointe du Hoc. This position was not yet hardened. In 1943, all the 6 gun positions were unprotected and open.

Rudder divided his forces into two units.  One group established a command post in the bunker area.  The second group went off in search of the missing cannons.  They were located, unguarded, in an apple orchard about a mile from Pointe du Hoc.  With thermite grenades and other explosives, the rangers destroyed the weapons and ammunition supplies.

By 0830, Pointe du Hoc was secured and 5 artillery cannons were destroyed.  Here is a picture of the 6th cannon, now on display:

This is the 6th 155 mm cannon now on display at Pointe du Hoc.

Force A, led by LTC Rudder, was the first American unit to accomplish their mission on D Day. They had captured Pointe du Hoc and established blocking positions on the road.

Force B

Pointe de la Percée on the western side. Force B landed on the east side

Meanwhile, Force B (Company C, of the 2nd Ranger Battalion) was assaulting at Omaha and later would capture Pointe de la Percée.  Their landing was at Charlie (farthest western sector of Omaha) on Omaha Beach, at 0645 in the second landing wave.  They landed after Company A, 116th Regiment was being torn apart on Dog Green (now more famously known as the Bedford Boys, as 19 from the town in VA were killed in the D Day assault on 6 June).  They too came under intense fire from 3 Widerstandnesten or Wn (resistance nests) defensive positions, Wn 71, Wn 72 and Wn 73.  They fought their way to the seawall. 

There were two possible plans for Force B.  If the D-1 Draw was clear, move up the draw and attack Pointe de la Percée and eliminate Wn 74 (plan 1).  Plan 2 was to climb up the cliffs (the worst option). 

Force B lacked most of the specialized climbing gear that was allocated to Force A.  With the draw not yet captured, the only option was climb the cliffs.  Hugging the cliffs, they found a section to climb.  PFC Otto Stephens climbed first, using his bayonet to dig hand holds.  He and 2 other rangers established a rope for the remaining rangers, so they would be able to climb up. 

The situation was so bad on Omaha, that the Force B commander, Captain Goranson, decided he had no other option than to attack Wn 73 and then proceed to attack Wn 74 on Pointe de la Percée. This turned out to be a great combat decision—Wn 73 was a really effective fighting position and Wn 74 was primarily a radar position, guarded by 2 anti-aircraft guns and several machinegun nests.

Only 29 of his 64 Rangers were able to fight—the rest were killed or wounded.  The remaining 29 men began slowing clearing the trenches of Wn 73.  They were later joined with 20 soldiers from 116th who also climbed the ropes.  All worked together, clearing the trenches, to eliminate their lethal machinegun nests and other defensive positions.

 At around 1400, Captain Goranson, after leading the men to clear the German defensive positions and block German reinforcements, led a patrol to Pointe de la Percée.  He found it abandoned, with the defensive positions Wn 74 destroyed by naval fire as they approached.  He returned to link up with Force C.  Around night fall, Force B had only 12 men able to fight.

Force C

Force C was reluctantly waiting off shore, hoping to reinforce Rudder at Pointe du Hoc.  His soldiers bobbed up and down in the rough seas.  There was no signal received by the Battalion Commander, LTC Max Schneider, from Force A—he had ordered his landing crafts to lay-to offshore.  Schneider knew how important it was to reinforce Force A at Pointe du Hoc.

There was no more time left; at 0740 six landing crafts with the rangers landed at Omaha beach at Dog White.  They were met with intense fire.  LTC Schneider, the only ranger officer with combat experience, moved the rest of the force to landing zone Dog Red.  This was a pivotal decision during the early phases of the invasion landings at Omaha.  He managed to get most of his force intact over the exposed 200 yards to the seawall—brush fires helped obscure the defenders from accurate fire upon his landing unit. 

Getting a well-trained, elite unit almost intact to relative safety was a key factor in the fight for Omaha.

Shortly thereafter, he met up with BG Cota, Executive Officer of the 29th Division.  It is here where Cota, urging the men off the beach, yelled out “Rangers lead the way!”  They made it up the bluffs and probably were the key reason in the 29th Division sector succeeded in accomplishing their mission in taking their assigned sector of Omaha beach.  LTC Schneider led his men through the obstacles, past the barbed wire and up the cliffs.  They continued the assault to their initial objective near Vierville and later linked up with the remainder of Force B.  They had been in almost 10 hours of constant combat.

However, they were badly shot up and could not effectively reinforce Rudder’s men at Pointe du Hoc on 6 June 1944 but they still wanted to try.  Key leaders denied them the chance on 6 June 1944.  The 29th Division had lost so many men, it needed the rangers to help defend the small beach head positions inland.  Despite LTC Schneider’s pleas to go reinforce the stranded rangers, he was ordered to stay and help defend the beach head.

3 ranger companys were not as important as securing Omaha—a tough but correct command decision.

Hanging On at Pointe du Hoc

Rudder had signaled that he had landed late and taken Pointe du Hoc, but the message was garbled and not understood by the commanders at sea.  They committed the reserve rangers (Force C) to land at Omaha beach.  By the time he communicated success, and ask for help, the reply was “no reinforcements”. 

Rudder’s group was now on their own.

Later that day, the Germans started their counterattacks.  By night fall, Rudder’s men were forced back into defensive positions in a small 200 yard perimeter. 

At 2100, 1st platoon of A Company, who had been unable to link up with the rest of the 5th Ranger Bn., had fought their way to Ponte du Hoc and linked up with Rudder’s men, with a force of 23 soldiers.  They would be his only reinforcements on 6 June. 

By 7 June, Rudder had a fighting force of fewer of 100 of the original 225 who had begun the assault.  Ammunition and food were running low.  He did get some reinforcements from the sea.  About 60 men from the 1st Platoon of Fox Company of the 5th Rangers and a dismounted cannon platoon, help reinforced Rudder’s men and evacuate some wounded soldiers.

Rudder held on until 8 June, when the 5th Rangers and men from the 29th Division finally linked up with his force.  His men had withstood 5 counterattacks.

The Price for Victory

The 2nd Ranger Battalion (a total force of about 488) had 77 killed and 152 wounded and 38 listed as missing.  At the time of the relief, Rudder’s original force of 225 had less than 75 men capable of fighting.

Rudder was wounded twice in the battle and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). Thirteen other Rangers were awarded the DSC for their roles at Pointe du Hoc and the other ranger missions.

The 5th Ranger Battalion (again about 488 men, according to the Table of Organization & Equipment (TO&E)) had 23 men killed, 89 wounded and 2 missing.

Both the 2nd Ranger Bn. and the 5th Bn. were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and the French Croix de Guerre.

Bayonet Monument on Pointe du Hoc. From our 2014 tour.

Inscription on the Bayonet Monument

Bayonet Monument on Pointe du Hoc. From our 2019 tour.

My Final Thoughts

Competence | Courage | Sacrifice | Rangers Lead the Way

To me, the value of visiting a place like Pointe du Hoc, is to see first-hand the difficulties this unit had to endure to insure the success of the D Day invasion.  Reading about this in history books or blogs just doesn’t due it justice—when you walk the terrain, the hardships and sacrifice leap out at you.  It really is about the best of America military forces—superbly trained soldiers, given a near impossible mission, and they triumphed.

We have led two tours in Normandy in 2014 and 2019 and those experiences have made this operation much more real for me.  We owe a debt of gratitude to these folks—their sacrifice and courage will stay with me for the rest of my life. 

Coin we handed out to our tour members from our 2019

If you have never been to Normandy and seen the D Day Beaches, I would encourage you to go.

We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise experts, and Europe destination experts.  We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe.  We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you.  We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.  As you can see, our full service agency can get you to almost anywhere you desire to travel and provide you a great experience and vacation.

When you are spending your hard earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip.  You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience.

Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you!  We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel.  Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com.  We want to help you:  Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations!  Your journey begins here!

HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 48+ years.  He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA).  This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years.  He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees.  His other Certifications:

• AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist

• Viking River Cruise Specialist

• Scenic River Cruise Specialist

• Emerald Waterways Specialist

• Avalon Waterways Specialist

• Brit Agent

Omaha and Utah Beaches 6 June 1944

Omaha and Utah Beaches 6 June 1944

By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

www.dreamdestinations.com

In November 1943, the Big Three (Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill) agreed in a conference in Tehran, that the Allied Western Forces of the United States and Britain would invade France in 1944 and open a second front against the German Fortress Europe. 

The clock was now ticking for the D Day invasion of France.  It was a race between German defenders and the Allied invasion force.

The ideal strategy was simple for the planners of the D Day amphibious invasion—attack lightly defended beaches, secure the beach, and move men and supplies quickly inland.  Next, establish or capture a port quickly to reinforce with more men and supplies.  Then, defeat the German forces and win the war.

Executing it proved to be one of the most difficult military tasks every attempted. 

During the massive planning operations, Pas du Calais (the most favorable landing site) and Normandy were under consideration.  Both had enough good characteristics to work for an amphibious landing.  But Normandy was the best choice for two reasons. There were: 1) in 1943 it was a lightly defended part of the German Atlantic Wall and 2) the Germans anticipated an attack at Pas du Calais and fortified it and constantly moved more soldiers into defensive positions. 

The German Defenders

The Germans realized they weren’t prepared to properly defend the vast Atlantic Wall in 1943.  The German commander, General Gerd von Rundstedt, drafted a report to Hitler about the scant fortifications and poor quality units defending the area.  Hitler responded by adding General Erwin Rommel (known popularly as the “Desert Fox” for his Africa campaign) to oversee improving the defenses.

The Germans knew an invasion was coming—they just didn’t know where or when.  The choice that the Germans believed the Allies would select was an invasion of Pas de Calais, as it was the most logical invasion site—only 20 miles from England and had 20 miles of good landing beaches.  The allies bolstered that illusion by creating a fake force under the command of LTG George Patton, complete with fake equipment, field barracks and even a docking area near Dover.  They relentlessly bombed the Calais area in the build-up phase, as well as other targets in France.  In an unusual operation, they also dropped dummies by parachutes, to harass and confuse the Germans. 

Dummy Paratrooper on display in the Caen Memorial Museum

Field Marshal Rommel was also convinced Calais was the prime invasion site and deployed the 208,000 man 15th Army to defend this area.  The deception plan of D Day was working as hoped for the Allies.

The first priority for the Germans was protecting the major harbors, as any invading forces would need constant supplies, more men and equipment. 

After securing these major ports, they then began building “Widerstandnesten” (resistance nests) along the beaches.  These were a series of pillboxes, gun positions, anti-aircraft weapons and trenches.  The beaches were littered with obstacles, mines (over 4 million mines) to enhance these resistance nests.  Inland, flooded lowlands and stakes were planted in the ground to cut into gliders during landings and make possible airborne landing zones potential death traps.

A key concept for the Germans was to stop the invasion on the beaches, so all defensive resources were placed at or near the beach areas and no defense in depth was planned.  There were reserve units to stop breakthroughs but the best reserve unit of panzer tanks could only be released by Hitler.  If the Allies could breach these tough defenses, and cut off the reserve forces, they had a good chance of success.

By June 1944 all the beaches used for the D Day landings in Normandy had at least some of these defensive measures in places. 

Unknown to the allies, the best defended beach in Normandy was Omaha.

The stage was set for that fateful day 6 June 1944.

Concept of the Overlord Operation

You might be surprised to know the last successful armed assault across the English Channel happened in 1066 (yes, the famous Battle of Hastings).  8 centuries later, this was about to change.

Amphibious landings are complex operations.  Trying to attack with 5 divisions over a 50 mile front in Normandy from a base in England would require naval forces, air forces and army units from British, Canadian and American forces.  The allied armies and massive equipment needed to ensure success only added to the complexity.  150,000 soldiers would be required, with a fleet of 5,333 ships and an air armada of over 12,921 planes.

Synchronizing an operation of this size remains one of the most amazing military feats in the history of the world.

An Overview of the Invasion

Overview of the D Day Invasion Plan Portsmouth D Day Museum 2014

Operation Overlord, the code name for the D Day invasion, was a complicated multipart attack.  To soften up and destroy some of the defending German forces, the area was bombed for about 6 weeks prior to the invasion.  On the early morning hours of 6 June 1944, American and British paratroopers parachuted and later landed in gliders to secure the western flank (American forces) and the eastern flank (British forces).  Then, prior to the start the landings, a naval bombardment of about 30 minutes in duration started, followed by an aerial bombardment.  Next, the amphibious landings took place on 5 objective beaches. 

The 3 beaches in the British Second Army sector, were Gold, Juno and Sword.  They were attacked by British and Canadian units.

The 2 American beaches, under the U. S. First Army (commanded by Lt. General Omar Bradley), were Omaha and Utah. 

Ike gives the OK to Go! Portsmouth D Day Museum 2014

The rest of this blog is the story of American forces attack on D Day in Normandy on the Omaha and Utah beaches.

Unit Patches from the Attacking American Forces at Utah, Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beaches

Omaha Beach

Western sector of Omaha Beach. Taken during our 2014 tour.

Omaha Beach was the objective of the 1st Division (the Big Red One) and the 29th Division (the Blue and Gray Division).  On the west of this 4 mile stretch of sand and bluffs, was Pointe du Hoc (next week I will tell you the story of this mission).  The east limit was the town of Ste.-Honorine-des-Pertes.  The beach was divided into 4 sectors (from west to east)—they were named Charlie, Dog, Easy and Fox. 

A veteran (Charles Norman Shay) from the Big Red One who survived D Day with Hank. His unit crest is from the 16th Infantry Regiment—he was a medic. Hank’s first Army unit was in the 1st of the 18th Infantry of the Big Red One. Taken 3 June 2019. He remained in the Army and retired as an E-8 (Master Sargent). He was awarded the Silver Star (not visible in the picture) for his actions on D Day and the Bronze Star.

The terrain at Omaha was advantageous for the German defenders—bluffs over 100 feet tall, back from 300 yards or more of beach depending upon the tides.  It offered really good fields of fire against any attack.  The best way off Omaha was fighting up the 4 draw exits through the cliffs. 

Part of Omaha Beach as seen from the American Cemetery—these were good defensive positions for the German defenders to engage the American soldiers.

View of the Omaha sector from Pointe du Hoc. Taken in our 2014 tour

Those of us, like me, with military training, instantly recognize the huge terrain advantage the defenders had, when visiting the Omaha beach area.  Properly integrated defensive fire, with adequate numbers of defenders, would make the open area of the beach an instant killing zone, and the draws, if properly defended, would be hard to successfully attack without tanks in support.

American planners believed Omaha was lightly defended—in 1943 it was almost completely undefended.  Rommel quickly upgraded these defenses, but the intelligence reports still reported poor fortifications and an under strength regiment of German defenders.

What the attackers faced at Omaha on 6 June 1944 were 85 machine guns nests, 38 rocket launchers, 35 pill boxes, 18 antitank gun positions, 8 artillery fortified positions, 6 mortar pits, and 4 field artillery positions.  These were part of the Widerstandnesten system. 

Machine gun bunker guarding the beach and D-1 Draw. Take during our 2014 tour.

There were 14 Widerstandnesten (Wn) positions in the Omaha sector.  They were numbered Wn 61--Wn 74.  The strongest was Wn 72.  These positions were maned by a battle harden division (3 battalions) of very good soldiers.  If these positions could survive the aerial bombardment and naval gun fire of an attacking force, they stood a good chance of stopping the invasion at the beach.

Wn 72, covering the exit draw D-1 was the best constructed of all of the Widerstandnesten in the Omaha sector.  It protected an 88 mm cannon.  It is now the memorial to the 29th Division.  Here are 2 photos:

Wn 72 Omaha Beach. It protect a 88mm cannon. Photo Hank Schrader

Memorial of the 29th Division, Omaha Beach

When the first soldiers hit the beach, the beach erupted into withering fire from all directions—it was utter chaos! 

Success at Omaha was still in doubt 6 hours after the attack begin.

The chaotic battlefield resulted in over 2,000-2,500 men killed, wounded or missing at Omaha—no one is really sure due the confusion and carnage of this intense battle site.

The plan was for the bombers to destroy as many as possible of the defensive positions and soldiers defending this area (part 1) and then naval gun fire would take out many of the remaining defensive positions (part 2).  Despite dropping around 13,000 bombs, almost all were off target, too far inland.  As the invasion force neared the coast, thick smoke and fog obscure the bluffs ahead, but the naval gunners opened fire.  Bright flashes and horrible noise arose from the assault area.  Soldiers were confident as they approached the beach area. With all the explosions, they expected most defenders were killed.  That would soon change.

The first wave of 1,450 soldiers landed from 35 landing crafts.  The beach was only wide enough to support two regimental size units.  On the western sector, the 116th Regiment of the 29th Division landed; on the eastern sector the 16th Regiment of the 1st Division hit the beach.  They were immediately engaged by the Germans.  The defensive fire was devastating, and accurate, as it was delivered from very well designed defensive positions.  In less than 5 minutes, 90% of the first wave were killed or wounded. 

Sculpture on Omaha Beach, from our 2014 tour.

They were unsupported by tanks for the most part.  112 tanks were available for the attack in the Omaha objective area.  64 were released to swim on their own at 0300.  Many of these tanks sank.  Of the 56 tanks allocated to the Big Red One sector, only 13 made it ashore.  A total of 58 tanks reached the Omaha beaches during the attack; by 0700 14 are destroyed.  By the end of the day only 3 tanks are operational.  Here is a picture of an amphibious tank outfitted to swim ashore:

Tank outfitted to swim. From our 2019 tour. Photo Hank Schrader

On the beach, 270 desperate engineer soldiers were trying to open 16 pathways for the tanks to get off the beach from the obstacles.  They have 27 minutes to achieve their mission according to the plan; only 1 pathway is opened on time.  Most of the engineers are dead or wounded by the end of their 27 minute first mission.

The landing waves continued.  Rifle and machinegun bullets constantly flew around; mortar and artillery shells rained down; explosions, screams, destroyed and abandoned equipment and vehicles litter the beaches (especially the destroyed burning tanks); and confusion was everywhere.  The only reasons most survived was there was just too many of them for the Germans to shoot everyone and the heavy smoke that offered some concealment to the exposed soldiers.

Without tank support, the original plan to take the heavily fortified draws was not a good option for soldiers only armed with light weapons.

At 0730, several hundred surviving soldiers were huddled against the seawall, and the outlook was bleak.  Most of their leaders had been killed or wounded. 

In the west, General Norman Cota, commander of the 29th Division, landed and sprinted to the wall around 0730.  As he rallied the soldiers, he realized going up the draws, according to the original plan wouldn’t work.  The only good option was to climb the less defended bluffs. 

He found a group of rangers and told them of his plan and then yelled out “Rangers Lead the Way”, which has become the official ranger moto.  Within an hour, the rangers and soldiers from the 29th reached the top.  The German defenses were oriented to the sea and Cota’s growing band of soldiers captured the Vierville draw (D-1) about 2 hours later by attacking them from their rear.  It took the engineer soldiers 8 hours to clear the Vierville draw of mines and other obstacles.

The beach head was still an intense killing zone at about 0830.  Several thousand soldiers were stranded and easy targets for the Germans.  A frustrated destroyer skipper (Lt. Commander Ralph Ramey), defied his orders, steamed his destroyed as close as possible and began to blast the cliffs with his 5 inch guns.  Soon, all the other destroyers followed.  Within 30 minutes, they had destroyed 6 gun emplacements.  The tide was turning.  With less effective fire raining down on the trapped men, leaders began moving soldiers up the bluffs and into the draws.  The crowded beaches were slowly clearing.

With men still vulnerable on the beach, and landing craft prohibited from landed more soldiers as there was no space, soldiers were trying to fight their way off the killing zone. In 2 hours of intense fighting, by 1100, the beach started to clear up as the men were making progress against the Germans.  Some landing craft commanders again defied orders and started to land more troops.  These soldiers and equipment were still under fire, but it was not as intense as at 0630.  The reinforcements help rally all in harm’s way--momentum now was on the American side.

By 1300, Gen. Bradley, who had considered abandoning Omaha and land the remaining soldiers at Utah, received a message that troops who had been previously pinned down on the beach were moving up the heights behind the beach area.  Victory now seemed possible.

3 hours later, the Colleville Draw was in American hands.  Now three of the four draws were under American control.  Not until about 2000, would the 4th draw, Les Moulins, be captured.

The stone marker is the site of the first American Cemetery established directly on the Omaha Beaches. The buried here were later moved to the larger American Cemetery.

The Americans had won at Omaha.  The unrealistic plan had called for the assaulting soldiers to capture the draw exits and bluffs by H+2 (0830).  It had taken all day, but they had captured the beachhead and high ground and pushed in land in some sectors.

Les Braves sculpture Omaha Beach 2019.

Memorial on Omaha Beach 2019. This is located on the Les Moulins Draw.

Utah Beach

Utah Beach 2019

Utah Beach sign 2019

The story at Utah was completely different than Omaha.

Utah Beach was the objective of the 4th Infantry Division (Ivy 4).  They were supported by the 82nd Airborne Division (most common nickname is the All American Division) and the 101st Airborne Division (the Screaming Eagles).

There was a 4 part plan at Utah--the strategy here had the added dimension of paratrooper support from the 16,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Divisions.  They were to land after midnight by parachutes and later with gliders (part 1), followed with naval shelling (part 2) and air force bombing support (part 3).  Then the landings by Ivy 4 (part 4). 

The Airborne Assault—Part 1 of the Utah Beach

Part 1 of the plan, the airborne and glider assault, was the largest parachute assault ever attempted up to that time.  The 101st mission code name was Albany; the code name for the 82nd mission was Boston.  The overall mission was to act as a blocking force to help secure the western flank of Utah landing zone; capture the 4 causeway exits; and to establish crossing points over the Douve River to assist the link up of the beachheads of Utah and Omaha. 

A former member of the 82nd Airborne poses with Iron Mike. Iron Mike is a tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives capturing and defending the bridge at La Fiere. It was part of the mission to capture and secure the river crossings during the D Day airborne landings. The original statue is at Ft. Bragg, NC, home of the 82nd Airborne..

The plan was for a night jump of both divisions to be followed up by the gliders. 

A night jump is an amazing experience for many paratroopers—I still remember my first night jump in Ranger school (jump #6—my first after 5 airborne school jumps) but we were dropped at about 2000 feet, and nobody was shooting at me.  The exit height was 700 feet in the D Day airborne assault!  To qualify for the D Day assault, 3 successful jumps was the standard in the training prior to the airborne assault.  Most paratroopers carried 125-150 pounds of equipment into the battle drop zones during the assault.

In 2014, Anne took this picture during a fly over the American Cemetery. This is a type of plane that was used by the American Forces to jump into either Albany or Boston Area of Operations.

Thompson .45 cal. Machine gun and ammo used in the D Day Assault. This is on display in the Airborne Museum in Ste. Marie Eglise, France.

A paratrooper Carbine with its jump case. Most soldiers jumped with their weapons ready instead of using the protective case. Airborne Museum

Paratrooper equipment and uniform on display in the Airborne Museum

Jump plane on display Airborne Museum 2019

The Airborne Forces, though initially scattered (one account I read reported 75% were dropped at the wrong drop zones), performed with great success in one of the most daring behind the lines attacks in the history of warfare to secure their blocking positions.  Some have been critical of their overall success since mission objectives were not achieved in the time frame desired, but this just ignores the fog of war—planners often think more is achievable than realistic when executing on the ground—plans look good on paper until someone starts shooting at you!

There were two reasons for their success, in my opinion.  First, the scattered forces confused the Germans—they could not focus their forces on one single area.  Second, the resolve of the soldiers and their leaders—makeshift units operated to accomplish the mission, when unit cohesion was lost.  Again, the individual fighting spirit of the soldiers to do the job won the day.

It was not easy—after a week of brutal fighting about 2,500 were killed wounded or missing in action from the 2 Airborne Divisions.

The Landing at Utah Beach

At 0550, the Navy opened fire on the beaches of Utah (part 2); shortly thereafter 270 B-26 bombers began extensive bombing raids (part 3).  Although many defensive positions in the beach area survived this onslaught, the defenders (“Russian volunteers“ and older, less able German soldiers) were seriously shaken, and put up little resistance.

Higgins Landing Craft on display at Utah Beach

Sculpture of assault at Utah Beach taken on 5 June 2019

Despite the perceived initial success with the shelling and bombing of the objective area, it looked like initially the landing was not going as planned (part 4).  The actual landing site was wrong for the first wave of landing crafts—3 of the 4 guide boats hit mines and the other landing boats got disoriented.  The planned landing site was off by 1000 meters.

It turns out this lucky mistake put the Americans at a lightly defended portion of Utah, with fewer obstacles, as compared to the more heavily defended planned landing site.  A quick change of plans happened—the Americans took advantage of the poorly defended area and began pushing inland. 

BG Teddy Roosevelt, Jr, assistant division commander, who landed with the first wave on Utah, recognized the error but also quickly realized the poorly defended area was a huge advantage and as we like to say in the military, “seized the initiative”.  He and Col. James Van Fleet, commanding officer of the 8th Regiment, started sending troops inland on route #1 and pushed into the other route causeways as the beachhead expanded.  By 1100 hours, exit causeway route #1 was secure—the soldiers of the 4th had linked up with soldiers of 101st.  Around noon, all 4 causeway exits were secured.

Going inland on causeway #1. This is the Leadership Monument. The WW II Foundation selected Maj. Dick Winters of Easy Company as the symbol of leadership during the D Day Invasion. It was dedicated on 6 June 2012.

For his actions on this day, Roosevelt was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. 

Other factors helped Utah to have the fewest casualties of any of the D Day beaches—fewer than 200 dead, wounded and missing from the amphibious landings.  The navy skippers launched the swimming Sherman tanks closer to the shore than called for in the plan and 28 of the 32 made it ashore.  Their immediate firepower was a critical element of success on Utah.  Also, the engineer units were outstanding.  They quickly breached the obstacles on the beach area and created avenues through the seawalls—men, vehicles and tanks started pouring onto and slowly off the beaches. 

A Sherman Tank on display at Utah Beach

1st Engineer Special Brigade Monument Utah Beach

The rapid success on Utah caused too many soldiers and vehicles landed with no safe place to go.  Congestion and traffic jams ensued (along with surrendering Germans) and could have proved deadly as many of the mines were not yet cleared, but by noon all was under control.

The beach defenders and defensive positions ultimately was not the major problem for the Utah attackers; it was the exit routes. These flooded fields that restricted movement and offered the Germans easy targets exposed the attacking force, as the attackers were forced to use the 4 exit causeway routes from the beachhead area for their vehicles.  Some luck, determined leaders and resolute soldiers, overcame this dangerous situation.

Utah turned out to be a roaring success.  As the darkness started, around 23,500 troops and 1,700 vehicles had landed.

Sailor Monument Utah Beach

4th Division Memorial Utah Beach

90th Infantry Monument Utah Beach

Lester Holt with Hank Utah Beach 5 June 2019

My Final Thoughts

D Day was a success but what really stands out to me is the resolve of the soldiers, sailors and airmen who made the operation work.  Heroic, innovative and resourceful, these military forces should be honored for their deeds.  They did not really see themselves as heroes--most just wanted to live to see 7 June 1944. 

The war’s end would not come for 336 days of more combat.  It would have never happened so soon, if these forces had not taken the first step on 6 June 1944 that ultimately ended the German occupation of Europe.

We have led two tours in Normandy in 2014 and 2019 and those experiences have made this operation much more real for me.  We owe a debt of gratitude to these folks—their sacrifice and courage will stay with me for the rest of my life. 

If you have never been to Normandy and seen the D Day Beaches, I would encourage you to go.

We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise experts, and Europe destination experts.  We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe.  We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you.  We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.  As you can see, our full service agency can get you to almost anywhere you desire to travel and provide you a great experience and vacation.

When you are spending your hard earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip.  You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience.

Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you!  We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel.  Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com.  We want to help you:  Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations!  Your journey begins here!

HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 48+ years.  He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA).  This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years.  He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees.  His other Certifications:

• AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist

• Viking River Cruise Specialist

• Scenic River Cruise Specialist

• Emerald Waterways Specialist

• Avalon Waterways Specialist

• Brit Agent

Memorial Day 2020 and WW II Cemeteries in Europe

Memorial Day 2020 and WW II Cemeteries and Monuments in Europe

By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71

www.dreamdestinations.com

There is a lot of confusion to the exact purpose of three major recognition days for all US military members and former members.  Armed Forces Day honors those currently serving in the military.  Memorial Day honors those who have died while on duty in the military services.  Veterans Day is a tribute to all who have previously served in our armed forces. 

Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the 3rd Saturday of May, as part of Armed Forces week.  It honors the Army, the Air Force, the new Space Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard.  The first 5 service branches are organized under the Department of Defense; while the Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security.  In 2020, there are more than 1.3 million on active service and more than 800,000 reservists defending our country.  In 1949 Armed Forces Day was first established when the Army, Navy and Air Force were organized under the Department of Defense, instead of each service just marking their own individual recognition day.  The Marines did not come under this initial new holiday, and keep their separate celebration.  They later joined in.  In 1961 Armed Forces Day became a National Holiday.  Each year of Armed Forces Day has a unique theme—some past themes are Dedication and Duty, Freedom and Patriotism.

The Memorial Day holiday has its origins from the end of the US Civil War—it was originally called Decoration Day.  Although the correct purpose of this holiday is to recognize those who actually died while on active service, for most American it also includes those who served their country and have passed on.  I know I personally honor my Dad on Memorial Day, even though he did not die on active duty but later in life after his retirement.

Veteran’s Day is celebrated on 11 November each year.  The significance of this date commemorates the end of the fighting in WW I.  For students of history, like me, we like to say “on the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month the guns fell silent”—an easy way to remember the date of the end of hostilities of WW I.  This original celebration has changed in America from an Armistice Day observance into Veterans Day, the holiday that we celebrate today.  About 19.6 million men and women have served our country.

WW II American Cemeteries and Monuments in Europe

I cannot think of a better way to recognize the courage and sacrifice made by our Armed Forces in World War II, than to tell you about the Cemeteries and Monuments dedicated to our Armed Forces in Europe.

There are 13 American cemeteries and 3 monuments in Europe.  According to the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), there are 89,033 soldiers honored in the 13 cemeteries.  73,177 are buried; 15,856 are listed as missing.  There are 3 monuments maintained by the commission—one in England and 2 in Normandy, France.

To help us learn more about these tributes for our fallen and missing soldiers of WW II, I have organized this by country to help make their unbelievable sacrifice a little more understandable.

This is a hard blog to write—the sheer numbers are staggering.  Despite this tragic tale, these places are dignified and respectful.  It is like Arlington Cemetery where my father and mother are buried—they use similar markers for each deceased, regardless of rank, but each has his or her legacy engraved on the markers. Here is what a marker looks like in Arlington National Cemetery:

Henry Schrader Gravestone Marker in Arlington National Cemetery

In Europe, the markers are a cross or other religious symbols. Here is a photo of an unknown hero from the American Cemetery in Normandy:

Unknown Soldier Buried in the Normandy American Cemetery

American Cemeteries in Belgium

There are 2 American Cemeteries in Belgium.  The Ardennes American Cemetery contains 5,317 buried, with 65 percent of those being fallen airmen of the U.S. Army Air Forces. There are also tributes to the 463 reported missing in action.  This cemetery served as the central identification point for all of the Europe Theater of Operations towards the end of the war and continued that mission of identification until 1960.

The Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery has 7,992 soldiers buried here and there is recognition for 450 missing in action.  The majority of the fallen Americans are from two major efforts of WW II.  The first battles were a result of the U.S. First Army's drive in September 1944 through northern France, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg into Germany, and the second group of dead were from the Battle of the Bulge.

The American Cemetery in England

Cambridge American Cemetery is the only American Cemetery in England.  The site was donated by Cambridge University.  3,812 are buried here; there is also tributes to the 5,127 reported missing in action.  Most were crew members who died in the Battle of the Atlantic or in bombardments of Europe later in the war.  In 2014, a visitor center was opened to help explain this critical phase of WW II.  It even has a downloadable app to help visitors learn more about this vital war effort.

American Cemeteries in France

There are 6 American Cemeteries in France. 

The Brittany American Cemetery is located near the eastern edge of Brittany.  Here are buried 4,409 dead soldiers and there is recognition for 500 reported missing in action.  Most of these military members died fighting in the Normandy and Brittany campaigns of 1944.

The Epinal American Cemetery is located near the Moselle River.  It has 5,254 buried here, most of whom lost their lives in the drive by the 7th Army towards Germany in the northeastern portion of France.  It also recognizes 424 missing in action.

The Lorraine American Cemetery contains the largest number of US soldiers killed in Europe—there are 10,489 buried here.  Another 444 were reported missing in action and their names are listed on the plaques displayed here.  Most of the dead here were killed while driving the German forces from the fortress city of Metz, France toward the Siegfried Line and the Rhine River.

The Normandy American Cemetery, perhaps the best known of all WW II cemeteries by Americans, is the final resting place for 9,385 killed and 1,557 reported missing during this campaign.  It lies just yards from the Omaha Beach area.  Walking this area is special—the rows of dignified markers honor these dead.  It was the first cemetery established in Europe by the Americans.  When I was walking this hallowed ground, it is a stark reminder of what it took to invade Europe—the sheer number of markers is just overwhelming. 

Anne and I led a tour here in 2014 for the 70th Anniversary of D Day (June 6, 1944) and a tour in 2019 for the 75th Anniversary.  During the 2014 ceremonies, each gave site was marked with a small American and French flag.  It was indeed memorable and touching and a fine tribute to our lost soldiers. Here are 3 pictures from our 2014 and 2019 tours:

American Cemetery in Normandy with French and American Flags 2014

This pictures shows the endless rows of the dead at the American Cemetery in Normandy 2014

2019 picture of the American Cemetery taken on 3 June 2019 as the cemetery prepares for the 6 June 2019 observances. Photo Anne Schrader.

The Rhone American Cemetery is along the route used by the U.S. Seventh Army in its drive up the Rhone Valley. It was established on August 19, 1944 after the Seventh Army's surprise landing in southern France.  There are 860 dead buried here and recognition of the 294 missing servicemen who were in this battle area.

The smallest WW II cemetery is near Paris.  The Suresnes American Cemetery is primarily a WW I cemetery, but it also has 24 unknown soldiers killed in WW II buried on the grounds.

Italy

There are 2 American Cemeteries in Italy. 

The Florence American Cemetery has 4,399 soldiers buried here and there is recognition of 1,409 reported missing in action.  These are soldiers of the 5th US Army, who died in the fight to capture Rome and in the heavy fighting battles in the Apennines Mountains that lasted until almost the end of WW II. 

The Sicily-Rome American Cemetery has 7,860 buried in the cemetery and 3,095 are listed on plaques as missing in action.  According to the ABMC website

“The majority of these individuals died in the liberation of Sicily (July 10 to August 17, 1943); in the landings in the Salerno Area (September 9, 1943) and the heavy fighting northward; in the landings at Anzio Beach and expansion of the beachhead (January 22, 1944 to May 1944); and in air and naval support in the regions.”

Luxembourg

One of the most well-known cemeteries in Europe by Americans, is the American Cemetery in Luxembourg.  Along with the 5,075 buried here and the 371 reported missing, it is the burial site of LTG George Patton.  Anne and I visited this sacred ground in 1989 while I was still on active duty.  It was truly emotional for me—I was so humbled and grateful for these soldiers.  Many of these soldiers lost their lives in the Battle of the Bulge and the subsequent drive to the Rhine River.  My Dad was part of the Battle of the Bulge and he survived—I am sure knowing that made me respected these dead heroes even more.

Luxembourg Cemetery. Photo Anne Schrader taken on our 1989 visit.

Netherlands

There is only one American Cemetery in the Netherlands.  It has 8,301 buried here; another 1,722 are listed as missing on the plagues displayed at this site.  According to the AMBC, this cemetery has a unique connection to the Dutch people.   

“Since 1945 members of the local community have adopted the grave sites of our fallen. They bring flowers to the cemetery and research the life of the service member as a way to honor their sacrifice.” 

It is a nice tribute to those buried here.

ABMC Monuments

There are 3 monuments in Europe commemorating the struggles our soldiers went thru in route to our victory in Europe.  The first 2 are in the Normandy area.  They are the Point du Hoc Ranger Monument and the Utah Beach American Monument. 

As a graduate of the US Army Ranger School, when I first walked the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, I realized how difficult the climb was from the beach and I just could not imagine completing the climb under hostile fire.  The monument is a ranger trench knife built on top of one of the bunkers of Pointe du Hoc.  The mission of the second ranger battalion was to scale the cliffs and eliminate the 155 mm artillery cannons the Germans had placed on this key defensive position.  In recognition of their successful mission, the monument was created by the grateful French people.

Here are some pictures of this monument:

Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument from our 2014 visit.

Pointe du Hoc Bayonet Monument Inscription

Pointe Du Hoc Ranger Monument from our 2019 tour. Picture Anne Schrader.

The monument on Utah Beach is a tribute to the successful amphibious assault landing on June 6, 1944.  It commemorates the achievements of U.S. VII Corps forces that landed and fought in the liberation of the Cotentin Peninsula from June 6, 1944 to July 1, 1944.

The monument is a red granite obelisk set in a small park overlooking sand dunes of the historic site.

Utah Beach Monument. Picture from the American Battle Monuments Commission Website

The newest monument is in Dartmouth, England and was dedicated on June 6, 2017.  Dartmouth was one of the staging points for the D Day invasion.

My Final Thoughts

While researching this blog, I realized how many members of our Armed Forces scarified their lives against nations determined to defeat us and impose their will upon our country.  I hope you will take a few minutes to reflect on this monumental effort and the cost to many who made the ultimate sacrifice.  They deserved to be remembered and honored.  I hope this blog did them justice and I hope you will remember them also. 

May we never forget—be thou at peace to each who gave so much for our country.

Hank Schrader, Major (Infantry) USA Ret. 

Veterans and Visit Dream Destinations, LLC

Veterans and Visit Dream Destinations, LLC

By Hank Schrader, Maj (ret), Infantry, USMA ’71

On the 11 of November, 2018, we will be celebrating the 100 Anniversary of Veterans Day.  This celebration started as Armistice Day, as on the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month the guns fell silent with the end of WW I.  It has evolved in the US to Veteran’s Day.

The last 100 years has shaped our modern military.  For 55 years of that era, our clients have served and helped with this process.

So, I thought it would be appropriate to salute the many veterans and their families who trust us to plan their travel.

They are an amazing group who have defended our country and deserve recognition for their sacrifices.

Overview

Currently we have about 91 folks who actively use us to plan their travel (I define active as have or will use us in a 2 year period).  Of those, 46 are veterans.  For you math whizzes, that is 50.5% of our clients.

They are quite a diverse group.  Most served in the Army.  We also have veterans from the Air Force and Coast Guard. 

We all have an instant bond.  We trust one another.  We know what sacrifice is all about.  We are proud we served our country.  We are humble and satisfied we did our jobs without much notoriety.  We respect one another.  We respect what others in the military have done with us and for us and those who came before and will come after us—it is an unbroken string of dedication, service and often times personal sacrifice.

So let’s learn a little more about these present day American heroes who are members of the Dream Destinations’ family.

They have Served Our Country with Distinction

For about 55 years or so, this group has been involved safeguarding our country and furthering America’s foreign policy.  They have served in combat in Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Bosnia, the Global War on Terrorism and the Gulf Wars.  Some have served as Special Forces and in the Delta forces.  They have flown aircraft, jumped out of them, maintained them, and used them to pursue criminals violating our laws.  They have protected our coasts, fought in jungles, in the desert sand countries and in the mountains.

It takes a special breed of person to do what they had to do for our country—if it was in a news headline of the last 55 years or so and it involved a military operation, someone in this group had something to do with it.  They did not read about history—they helped make it.

The Army Group

Not surprisingly, if you know anything about me, my West Point graduate friends make up the majority of our Army veterans who travel with us.  Anyone of this group who went through the 47 months of West Point and served their country for 5 years or more as an officer is a dedicated leader of character (kinda of refreshing to talk about character is a positive light, isn’t it?).

I would be remiss if I did not also include the many other fine officers and NCO’s (sergeant’s) who also use us for some of their travel needs.  They are an equally distinguished group.  Regardless of how they entered the Army, we are equals in dedication and service.

While we never boast about earned ranks from our Army friends, they range from Major General (2 stars) to Command Sergeant Major.  Many were key players in shaping our Army’s legacy and destiny.  They achieved distinction by earning high ranks—it is a mark of their dedication and exceptional service to our nation.

6 West Point veterans from left to right Jim, Tom, Alan, Hank, Bill & Mark and West Point Track Coach Joe 6 June 2014 at Ste, Mere Eglise on our D Day Tour

Hank (USMA ‘71), Jane, Len (USMA ‘74), Jim (USMA ‘71) and Maureen on an AmaWaterways River Cruise

Our Niece, Sergeant Mindy Dahl

The Air Force Group

This group is dominated by Air Force Academy grads—the same kudos about leaders of character apply to these wonderful folks.

Their service includes flying aircraft, missile defense, and support operations.  Their technical skills were and are exceptional and they are equally great leaders.

A Special Shout—Our Niece Mindy

We do have to point out a special member of the Air Force group—our niece Mindy.  She is on active duty, serving as an E-7 (Sergeant) and a financial specialist.  Dependable and fun loving—she is a positive testament to the good folks serving us in today’s military.

Denise & Mark Thomas in his Coast Guard Dress Mess Uniform & Kilt

Our Dear Friend Mark, the Coast Guard Master Chief

As the lone Coast Guard military member of this group, Mark may be one of the most unique.  31 years of service, retiring as a master chief, and a true connoisseur of wines (earning professional certification as a wine educator).  We have traveled with them since 2013 and are much better for knowing him and his wife Denise.

Denise and Mark have helped us learn more about wine and with our Scottish heritage.

It never surprises me to learn about the hidden talents of my military friends—they are doers, thinkers, problem solvers and fun to be with.

Anne & Hank 1987 at Ft. Ord, CA, all dressed up!—she’s my biggest cheerleader!

The Family Members

We should never forget the spouses and family members who support the men and women of our military travel clients.  They too are a special breed who often made it possible for their significant other to serve without worrying about the home fires.  They are our champions, our biggest cheerleaders and put up with us.

My Final Thoughts

It is humbling to know these distinguished folks trust us—we try to uphold their high standards by serving them as well as they served or are serving our country. 

What is even better about this group is they are friends first and clients second—we are honored to know them!

I hope you have enjoyed reading a little about the brave folks who trust us with their travel planning.  Please take a moment of two to think about how these folks and any other veteran you might know have helped you live a safe, secure life and have allowed you in some small way to pursue your dreams.

I know I can speak for the group by saying they would all say it was an honor to serve their country. 

Well done my comrades in arms—you have made America a better place to live in due to your service.  YOU FOLKS ROCK!!

Captain Hank Schrader in Panama 1979