About two weeks after D-Day, U.S. Navy Captain Harry “Savvy” Sanders, commander of Destroyer Squadron 18, recapped his experiences on 6 June 1944 in a letter to his friend Captain J. H. Chadwick. “The landing on Omaha beach was impeded by the failure of the air force to knock out mortars, light guns and machine gun nests,” he wrote.
With invading American soldiers pinned down by enemy fire, Sanders’ destroyers “closed the beach to within 800 to 1,000 yards and spent the day in knocking out these guns.” Adding a humorous note, Sanders said, “It was good fun to watch for gun flashes, put a couple of five inch salvos on the target and watch the Germans come running out with their hands stretched over their heads.”
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