2nd Lt. Leonard Fox, 146th Engineer Combat Battalion
We learned about the invasion on June 4th, we were told that the invasion would start the next day. I was a Lt. in a replacement depot. I had picked up a case of dysentery so I didn't feel good at the time. Weather was rainy and that continued for several days. On June the 6th I was sill at the repple depple waiting for a transport ship to bring me and the other Engineer officers across the Channel.
It was d-day+4 when we finally got on a troop transport. I got seasick on board of the ship for the first time in my life and throughout the crossing I felt like a sick puppy. On top of the seasickness I was scared stiff, being a young boy from the States. It kept raining when we transferred unto an LCM from which landed on Omaha Beach. When embarked in waist deep water we had no clue what to expect on the beach. The situation on the beach was unbelievable. Although no one was shooting at us at the time we still couldn't believe what we were seeing. Wreckage was everywhere. The frontline was only three miles away, so artillery fire could be heard and the battle ships which lay offshore supported the troops with their heavy guns. We were driven to the 146th ECB where I joined the battalion. I remained with this battalion throughout the war. We fought across France, Belgium and Germany and ended the war in Czechoslowakia.
You can find more information about the 146th Engineer Combat Battalion on the website of Leonard Fox
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