All the Honour and Glory to Brother Charlie
by Carlo Migliavacca (translation by Paolo A. Dossena)
by Carlo Migliavacca (translation by Paolo A. Dossena)
"A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends." (Jn 15:13) Photo by Arrigo Francani, 2019.
‘Vomit, bad odour of sweat and the awful smell of fear. The shore is getting closer, the LCVP * is awfully rolling among the waves; the German bombs are coming too close. Here we are! This is it, ramp down, let’s move, the lieutenant is screaming like crazy: ‘Everybody out!’ The German machine guns are firing at us. The noise of the bullets hitting the thin steel walls is unbelievable. My mates are being killed like flies. Forward! No, it can’t happen to me. I’m too young to die, I still have too many things to do. My girlfriend is waiting for me at home, and I work at my father’s side in the carpentry, I can’t let him down. I must survive! Well done, keep the head down, jump into the water. My God, it’s too deep! Where did they dump us? The water is too deep! I’m sinking, I’m struggling, I’m too heavy. Mum, mum, help! Lord God, I beg you, don’t make me drown, I don’t want to die like that. I’m drinking water mixed with the blood of my wounded mates, I’m coughing and spitting and fighting with all of my strength. My boots are on the ground right now, yes, I can walk at last. My head is above the water surface, now I’m moving forward with difficulty, but trying. I’m taking a deep breath, the air smells of salt and gun powder. Forward, forward and forward again, carrying the Garand rifle above the head…I finally made it to the shore under very heavy fire. How strange! Bullets are buzzling like hornets all around myself. The commander is screaming: forward, forward, men!...It’s impossible, though, it’s a suicide! Everybody is getting killed right now…It’s a nightmare! Lord God I beg you, please! I have never wronged anyone, I don’t deserve to die. Not now. Forward, forward and forward again…It’s the bravery of desperation. Stopping now would make it worse… Oh wait…I’m taking cover behind a cheval de frise. It’s made of railway tracks. Wait a minute, just one minute… I have to breathe normally, otherwise my heart is going to explode. It would be good to stay here under cover until after the end of the war, but my mates are pushing forward and dying. I’m not a coward, but I’m scared. The lieutenant too has been hit, he has fallen too! The sergeant takes over the command and screams: move forward, forward and forward again, don’t stop! Lord God, give me strength! Give me courage! I stand up and take off again. I can see a sandhill nearby where I could take cover. Come on Charlie, come on! It’s just a few feet away…Suddenly something hits me in the breast; it felt like a hammer blow, which stops my run and makes me fall down to the sand. What is happening? I don’t feel any pain…I put my hand under the uniform, I take it off and I watch it. It’s red, full of blood. It’s my blood. I have been hit. No, no, no! Come on, Charlie, it’s nothing. They are coming to rescue you. You are going to end up in one of those snow white hospitals full of splendid nurses. Three hot meals a day and clean sheets. What do you want more of in your life? Just hold on…They are coming. Relax. They are coming. How soft is the sand, and how beautiful is the sky. There so many clouds now…they are so fast…they are just like those above the Missouri pastures…my Missouri. Finally, my heart beats at a slower pace…It beats slower and slower…They are coming. Don’t worry. Just hold on…How peaceful here. I don’t hear anything. Not anymore. No gunshots, no blasts, no screams…I just feel sleepy, so sleepy. I could also fall asleep, they would find me anyway. God knows that I can’t die. So many people love me and they are waiting for me back home. The eyes are closing...the eyelids feel heavy…Sleep, Charlie, sleep, the nurse is coming…My heart beats slower and slower…How peaceful here. Finally.’
Noboby is going to rescue him. Charlie is going to die on Omaha Beach on 6 June 1944. He was just 20 years old and he had so many dreams.
* LCVP = Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel
Noboby is going to rescue him. Charlie is going to die on Omaha Beach on 6 June 1944. He was just 20 years old and he had so many dreams.
* LCVP = Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel
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Photo above left: taken by photographer Robert F. Sargent, U.S. Coast Guard, aboard an American boat in troop landing operation on June 6, 1944, in front of Omaha Beach. Photo above right: a dead American soldier in the foreground, other US military in the background. Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944. Photo owned by the National Archives USA.
American military cemetery on Omaha Beach. Photo by Arrigo Francani, 2019.
Page published June 14, 2020