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Monument to be Dedicated
to USN and USCG Servicemen at Normandy June 1944
This dedication is
especially important to DESA as it honors the crews of the six
destroyer escorts that served during the Normandy
Invasion: USS AMESBURY DE-66, USS BATES DE-68, USS
BLESSMAN DE-69, USS BORUM DE-790, USS MALOY DE-791 and USS RICH
DE-695 and memorializes the crewmembers KIA aboard RICH.
RICH was the only DE and last DesLant ship to go down to Nazi
mines off Normandy.
The Loss of USS RICH
DE-695
On the morning of 8 June
1944, USS GLENNON DD struck a mine while screening heavy ships
off Utah Beach. Minesweeper STAFF moved in to assist
GLENNON and pass a tow line. RAdm M. L. Deyo ordered USS RICH
DE 695 to the scene and she approached from eastward to offer
assistance. However, GLENNON signaled RICH that her
assistance was not needed. Lt. Cmdr E. A. Michel, CO of
RICH, without hesitation, had gone to the aid of GLENNON,
knowing he faced danger from enemy gunfire and mines.
When RICH
was dismissed from the
area she was told to be cautious due to mines. RICH
circled astern of GLENNON and headed away at five knots.
RICH's captain was taking every precaution. But, it was
not enough.
0920: An explosion
burst from the sea about 50 yards off RICH's starboard beam.
Although men were shaken and power and lights lost temporarily,
no serious damage occurred from the mine blast. The ship
was not so lucky when a second mine was encountered three
minutes later.
A deafening explosion
thundered from beneath RICH. Men were thrown from the
bridge to the deck. A 50-foot section of the ship's stern
was torn off and set adrift. Survivors attempted to cling
to debris or swim to safety and the seriously wounded were
helpless in the mangled wreckage. A series of emergency
reports reached the bridge - several torpedoes were making hot
runs in their tubes; the main deck had sagged, vicinity of No.
2 engine-room; compartments forward of the engineering spaces
had suffered only minor damage. But, there was never time
to assess the reports. Only minutes later, a third mine
unleashed its fury on RICH. She stayed afloat less than
thirty minutes before settling into the sea. RICH and 89
crewmembers were gone.
Lt. Cmdr. Edward A.
Michel, Jr. received the Navy Cross for heroism and devotion to
duty.
Naval Order
PRESS RELEASE - 2 Jan 2008
Although military historians generally regard the US Navy as
little more than a ferry service in the epic June 1944 Normandy
Landings, the deaths of more than a thousand of its Sailors in
the initial days of the Invasion account for one out of every
five American combat fatalities during that period. Yet the US
Navy is the only service among all participating American armed
forces and those of our Allies that fought at Normandy that is
not memorialized there by some type of monument or even simple
stone marker.
Two years ago the Naval Order of the United States began its
campaign to raise a half million dollars to erect a monument in
Normandy that will give US Navy Sailors and Coast Guard units
that fought under the Navy’s control there the tribute these
men merit. This past December the Naval Order, a 117-year old
fraternal naval historical organization, achieved 90% of its
goal and received approval from the American Battle Monuments
Commission to proceed with plans to dedicate the US Navy
Normandy D-Day Monument this September 27 on land donated by
the French Government at UTAH Beach.
The Naval Order initially presented its plan to the Secretary
of the Navy in early 2006. The organization recently advised
Navy officials that the Naval Order’s all-volunteer cadre had
raised $450,000 in private donations but now encounters a major
problem in notifying World War II Veterans and families of the
Monument’s dedication date.
Retired US Navy Captain Ken Johnson, Commander General of the
Naval Order of the United States explains:
“We’re erecting this Monument so that the US Navy is honored
properly along with all the other American and Allied armed
services that fought in the Normandy Invasion. Our Navy
actually lost 1068 Sailors killed and eight warships sunk.
“Now American World War II Veterans - brothers in arms of our
Sailors killed or injured at Normandy – are dying at a rate
that exceeds 1000 daily. We think Veterans will want to know
that Sailors who participated in the various phases of the
Normandy Invasion will at long last get a meaningful tribute
there. The high death rate of our remaining Veterans adds
urgency to our need to inform them of the Monument’s
dedication.”
Johnson said the Naval Order particularly wants to avoid a
scenario in which a Navy veteran of the Normandy Invasion with
the desire and means to attend the Monument dedication is
unable to do so because he lacks information. The Naval Order’s
website, www.navalorder.org, provides current information about
the US Navy Normandy D-Day Monument’s dedication and tours of
Normandy incident to that event.
(World War II Navy veterans and their families can also contact
Monument Project Chairman Captain Greg Streeter, 904.221.0923;
gstreetr@bellsouth.net, or Commander Dan Felger, 202.488.8268;
danjeandc@verizon.net regarding the Monument Project and
dedication ceremony. Streeter reminds those considering
attending the September 27 ceremony to insure they have a valid
passport.)
The Naval Order is asking local newspaper editors and military
service-oriented organizations that publish newsletters to
inform readers of the pending completion of the US Navy
Normandy D-Day Monument and its dedication. Johnson believes
that the community associations of many members of military
service organizations would enable this information to be
presented to their neighbors.
Johnson said that project planners initially agreed that
notifying Veterans about the Monument and then its developments
would be problematic. He cited the large demobilization at the
end of World War II, the effect of six decades between the
Invasion and initiation of the Naval Order’s project and the
mobile nature of many Americans during this interval, current
high death rate of World War II Veterans, and limited
capability of volunteers to solicit private donations while
also conducting address research as factors in the Naval
Order’s decision to concentrate on fundraising.
The Naval Order began this Project in December 2005. Its
campaign does not involve the use of professional fundraisers,
consultants, or public money. Fundraising leaders project
attainment of their $500,000 goal in early May.
The Naval Order has already requested representation from the
French Ministry of Defense at the dedication ceremony. Johnson
said Monument dedication planning now beginning with the Navy
includes the Naval Order’s request that either the Secretary of
the Navy or Chief of Naval Operations attend the ceremony and
inquires about the employment schedule of the AEGIS cruiser USS
NORMANDY to support this event.
Prominent Americans who have endorsed the US Navy Normandy-Day
Monument include President George H.W. Bush and Senator Bob
Dole – both World War II combat veterans – as well as actor Tom
Hanks, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), two of the famous “Band of
Brothers,” and two Medal of Honor recipients. Former New York
Yankee and Major League Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Yogi
Berra served as a crewmember aboard a Navy landing craft firing
rockets at German defenders at OMAHA Beach on D-Day.
Prepared: CDR Dan Felger, USN (Ret)
Chairman, US Navy Normandy D-Day
Monument Project Development
(202) 488-8268; danjeandc@verizon.net
More information about the Monument and Naval Order is at
www.navalorder.org
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