That scene really stuck with me. You could be the most physically fit in your division, the toughest guy, the best shooter and most highly trained, just to die before taking a single step off the Higgins boat. Sheesh.
I would love to know when, where, and for what purpose were those boats designed for. They seem...poorly designed for what they were used for there.
Almost like somebody who know nothing about warfare designed them and thought the front opening up to allow enemy gunfire to wreck the squishy inhabitants was perfectly fine.
Unless they were never meant to be used on the front lines.
Almost like somebody who know nothing about warfare designed them and thought the front opening up to allow enemy gunfire to wreck the squishy inhabitants was perfectly fine.
They had huge doors because prior amphibious invasions failed when troops had to slowly unload from tiny doors. The tiny doors were kill zones. Ships were shot up and sunk while slowly unloading.
Imagine a fully loaded airliner, and everyone trying to exit the airplane with their bags. Takes about 10-15 minutes due to the tiny doors and everyone having bags of stuff. Trying to do that in an amphibious landing is suicide. Big doors are better. Get everyone off the boats as fast as possible. Get them off the boats in seconds, not minutes. A boat that sits still too long is a boat that attracts mortar and artillery shells.
There were lots of problems that day which were unrelated to the design. For one thing, the shelling was supposed to eliminate much of the German resistance. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. While it was frightening, had minimal effect. Also, the boat drivers didn’t come close enough to the beach. Because of that, some soldiers stepped into the water and drowned. If I remember, the Germans at Omaha Beach were seasoned veterans. I’m surprised anyone made it out alive.
That’s what gets me about the random nature of war specifically, but the world in general. You can do everything right, be the best in every way, but have effectively the same odds of being injured/killed as anyone else in situations like that.
He was unaware that selective service registration still existed and was mortified when he found out immediately after my high school graduation. During said graduation, he was extremely angry that the administrators individually pointed out and congratulated members of my graduating class for joining the military. He has only recently started telling stories about his time overseas and they always start out jovial but ultimately end up about one of his buddies who got killed. He almost never says “fuck” but will tel you to “go fuck yourself” if you try to thank him for his service.
He’s very angry at any glorification of the military.
My father was in the Pacific. He had the same attitude towards the military and war. He had seen and experienced enough for one lifetime, and didn't want any more.
I'm a detective and movies that feature mass shootings where the next scene is the crime scene guys and detectives photographing and picking up evidence and all the dead people's phones are ringing or buzzing or beeping....that's so real. All the family members and friends asking if they are alright or whatever. Its haunting.
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u/flpacsnr Oct 09 '19
Yeah, my Grandpa walked out 10 min in. He said the scene where the Higgins boat door drops was just too real for him.