Company K, 116th Infantry Regiment

Federalized from Charlottesville, Virginia, on 3 February 1941, Company K, commanded by Captain William G. Pingley Jr., was one of four companies of the 116th Infantry's Third Battalion to land at Omaha Beach in the third wave. The six approaching assault landing craft came under artillery attack 500 meters out and received small-arms fire at 100 meters, but the company did not sustain casualties while embarked. The unit beached at H+40, ten minutes early. One landing craft grounded on a sandbar, forcing its boat section to abandon equipment and swim to shore. The others landed close together on an unoccupied beach, allowing the men to reach the seawall more or less in boat-section configuration. As troops from other units came ashore, congestion prevented any attempt to reorganize there. Small-arms fire striking the low seawall intensified, killing two men and wounding several others before all the boat sections could reestablish themselves and begin moving inland. Proceeding on their own initiative at 0900 hours, each section breached the ten-foot-thick wire-and-mine obstacle at the top of the wall. Sand dunes offered some concealment as they advanced, but a brief firefight in a swampy area and the steep hill beyond slowed progress. Although accurate fire from rocket boats had blown up or exposed many enemy mines, enough remained that guides were posted and rotated to direct advancing files of soldiers uphill. After losing fifteen men to mine detonations and machine-gun fire, Company K crested the hill in four hours and pushed inland another 300 yards before encountering heavy artillery and small-arms fire. Finding enough cover to create an illusion of safety, the company halted until the battalion operations officer arrived at 1400 hours and ordered the 2nd and 5th boat sections to move west across a wheat field. Despite sniper and machine-gun fire, those sections continued forward and about two hours later linked up with a small force of Rangers. With the Rangers they fought into Vierville-sur-Mer, then continuing alone, they worked through the village, cleared it of snipers, and turned west down a road out of town. There they found Colonel Charles D. Canham, the regimental commander, who directed them to proceed to and provide security for the chateau that would serve as a regimental command post. Still configured in boat sections, the remainder of Company K reached the Vierville Road and dug in for the night in anticipation of hard fighting in the days ahead. Company K's honors include the Presidential Unit Citation and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm.

Bedford, Virginia · United States