Connecticut Connections to D-Day
At least 20 Connecticut men died on June 6, 1944, including Pvt. John R. Bergendahl of Middletown;in 2009 Killingworth man saves 2 French children at Omaha Beach!
by Philip R. Devlin.
More than 150,000 armed forces personnel, 5,000 ships, and more than 1,200 aircraft formed the armada that assaulted the shores of Normandy during “Operation Overlord” on June 6, 1944 – otherwise known as D-Day – 75 years ago this week.
The attack was by far the largest amphibious invasion in the history of the world to date, and it is safe to say that there will never be another invasion of that size again. Nationwide, more than 16,000,000 Americans mobilized for the war; of that number, more than 210,000 men and over 3,300 women called Connecticut their home. 161 of those Connecticut natives are memorialized at the famous American cemetery at Colleville sur Mer that overlooks Omaha Beach; 19 of them died on D-Day.
The American amphibious forces assaulted two beaches – Omaha and Utah – and one cliff – Pointe du Hoc – on D-Day. Connecticut men participated in all three assaults. Four Connecticut men buried in Normandy were members of the famous 2nd Ranger Battalion, their mission: to capture a triangular piece of land jutting out into the English Channel known as Pointe du Hoc. It was a formidable challenge. Pointe du Hoc was of great strategic importance, as it lay between both Omaha to the east and Utah to the west. The Germans had placed large artillery pieces on the top of the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc. These guns could be used to hit either of the two American beaches or both. The Rangers had to get to the top of 100-foot cliffs from the shore. They modified mortars to shoot heavy ropes with grappling hooks up to the top of the sheer cliffs at Pointe du Hoc (see photos). They slung their rifles over their backs and began to climb the ropes as the Germans above, with a huge strategic advantage, shot down at them, tossed grenades at them, and cut their ropes. The Rangers eventually got up and secured the cliffs but at great cost. Over 60 percent of the 2nd Ranger Battalion were killed or wounded – by far the highest casualty rate of any unit on D-Day. Four soldiers from Connecticut were among the casualties: Pvt. James E. Donovan of New Haven County; Pvt. John S. Gourley; Sgt. Charles E. Rich, and Sgt. Frederick D. Smith of Connecticut, who was awarded the Silver Star for heroic action during the attack.
Six Connecticut servicemen were members of airborne divisions who parachuted in behind the lines to secure roads and bridges. Two were members of the 101st Airborne Division: Pvt. Charles S. Emerson, who was also awarded the Silver Star, and Lt. Harlan E. Rugg.
Four were members of the 82nd Airborne Division. They included Sgt. Harry E. La Chance Jr., Pvt. John N. Bruno, and Pvt. John R. Bergendahl of Middletown, CT, whose actions near St. Mere Eglise before he died earned him the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster; finally, there was Pvt. Andrew Babjak of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne from Fairfield County.
Another likely member of an airborne unit was Cpl. Frank E. Benson whose job in the war is simply described as “counter-intelligence.” He probably parachuted in to Normandy.
Lt. David P. Fuller of Suffield flew cover during the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. Fuller flew 92 combat missions as a member of the 493rd fighter squadron of the 9th Air Force. Stationed near Pointe du Hoc, he flew numerous missions in his P47 D named “Mrs. Mouse” from his Normandy base through September 5, 1944. He was one of Connecticut’s most decorated fighter pilots during the war, receiving numerous medals, including the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Private Michael Datzko of Ansonia, of the 4th Infantry division, landed on Utah Beach, where he was awarded a Bronze Star before he died. Datzko was one of only 197 American casualties on Utah Beach. “Bloody Omaha,” however, had over 3,000 casualties, so it should come as no surprise that most of Connecticut’s casualties – eight – came at Omaha. Naval coxswain Kenneth H. MacAulay of Windsor Locks was only 19 when he died on Omaha Beach on D-Day. He had driven a landing craft carrying troops to the shore when his boat was hit by artillery from a German artillery battery onshore. Private Douglas R. Osborne of Windsor, CT, landed at Omaha with the 1st Infantry Division – nicknamed “the Big Red One.” Osborne was killed at the Easy Red sector after his heroic actions had earned him the Bronze Star there. Note in the list below this article that the rest of the casualties were all tied in with the 29th Infantry Division. The 29th was located in the western end of Omaha, near the Vierville Draw. The 5th Ranger Battalion assaulted this area with them. Both units suffered many casualties; in fact, Dog Green was the area where 22 men from Bedford , VA, were killed within minutes of each other. Bedford, VA, is the home of the National D-Day Memorial because the town lost more of its men on a per capita basis than any other town or city in the United States.
Another Connecticut connection can be made to the Dog Green sector on the western side of Omaha Beach. That connection happened in the summer of 2009, when Killingworth native and HKHS grad, Chris DiStefano, was visiting the famous beach as part of a student tour group when he was in college. While walking in the water, Chris heard the cries of two young French children who were being carried out to sea by a riptide. Stripping off his clothes, he swam out and saved their lives, much to the relief of their parents. The “new hero of Omaha” was quoted in the July 5, 2009, edition of the New Haven Register as saying, “It just felt good being an American back on that beach doing something like that. Coming back in, I just thought about how many people died right where I was swimming. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.”
A lot of men had indeed died right there in the Dog Green sector of Omaha where Chris DiStefano saved two lives in 2009. Of the more than 5,300 men and women from Connecticut who died in World War II, 20 died on June 6, 1944, and eight of them died right there near the Vierville Draw.
Connecticut Men Who Died on June 6, 1944, in Normandy
- BABJAK ANDREW—PVT ( 508th PIR; 82nd AB)
- BENSON FRANK E—CPL ( Counter-Intelligence)
- BERGENDAHL JOHN R.—PVT (82nd AB ; Bronze Star w/ Oak Leaf Cluster)
- BRUNO JOHN N—PVT* (82nd AB)
- CANAVAN MICHAEL J. Jr.—PVT ( 299th Engineers)
- COWAN WILLIAM J—PVT ( 29th ID)
- DATZKO MICHAEL—PVT (4th ID; Bronze Star)
- DONAHUE JAMES E—PVT (2nd Ranger Battalion)
- EMERSON CHARLES S.—PVT (101st AB; Silver Star)
- GOURLEY JOHN S—PVT (2nd Ranger Battalion)
- HALL WILLIAM C-1st Lt. (79th ID)
- KRAWFSKY ANTHONY—PVT (29th ID)
- LA CHANCE HARRY E JR—SGT. (82nd AB)
- MacAULAY, KENNETH H. (Navy Coxswain)
- OSBORN DOUGLAS R—PVT (1st ID; Bronze Star)
- RICH CHARLES E—SGT. (2nd Ranger Battalion)
- RUGG HARLAN E—2ndLt. (101st AB)
- SMITH FREDERICK D—SSGT (2nd Ranger Battalion; Silver Star)
- WASSIL NICKOLAS—PVT (5th Ranger Battalion)
- ZAWICKI FRANK A—PVT ( 29th ID)
Photos courtesy of Phil Devlin.
