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| Point du Hoc |
| From Omaha Beach I headed down the coast to Point du Hoc. On the morning of June 6, 1944, Dog, Easy, and Fox Companies of the 2nd Ranger Battalion under the command of LTC James E. Rudder had the tough mission of scaling the 100 foot cliffs to capture the German guns which were firing on Omaha and Utah beaches. |
| The Allies thought that there were at least six 155 millimeter guns aimed at Utah and Omaha beaches. The guns were hidden within concrete bunkers with six to eight feet of concrete surrounding them. Air bombing was not an effective way to destroy the guns. It would have to be done by the Rangers. |
| The bunkers were so well built that they are still standing today. Using rocket-fired ropes and rope ladders, the Rangers scaled the cliffs under heavy fire. Then they moved forward inch by inch. |
| When they arrived at the bunkers, the Rangers discovered the guns had been moved. The Rangers did not give up. |
| After heading inland a mile, the Rangers found the big guns that had been moved because the Germans feared they would be destroyed in earlier bombing. The picture to the right shows craters that still exist on the land above Point du Hoc. Everywhere I walked there were eight to twelve foot craters. |
| By June 8, 1944, the Americans controlled Point du Hoc, but it was with a heavy cost. Of the original 225 Rangers who attacked, only 90 were able to continue to fight. The area has been left just as it was on that day. It was a strange feeling to go inside the bunkers and walk though the craters. I tried to imagine what it must have been like while the fighting happened. It must have been very scary. |