His lads made a spirited dash across the sand and eventually reached the low seawall, which offered a refuge of sorts. He was the first Allied soldier to land from the sea on D-Day, and the moment hit him: вЂњGoddam, weвЂ™re on French soil!вЂќ He jumped into the waist-deep water and surged through the waves, dodging mines, barbed wire and small arms fire. SchroederвЂ™s landing craft led from the front, scouring the shingle as closed in on Utah Beach in the early morning light. (Photo by: Photo12/UIG via Getty Images) On the beach General Dwight D Eisenhower speaks to men of 101st Airborne before they set off. Give вЂ™em hell.вЂќ But for all the fighting talk, the two men choked up as emotion got the better of them. In doing so, he transformed them from teenage volunteers into a highly competent force.ДЄs Schroeder boarded his landing craft at around 2.30am, he was given encouragement from his battalion commander, Carlton McNeely. Schroeder was a bulldozer of a man, with a thick-set face, a pronounced nose and the nickname Moose вЂ“ an appropriate moniker for someone as stock-solid as the giant animal of his native through mock landings and using live ammunition. Following in their wake would be hundreds of vessels laden with jeeps, tanks and armoured vehicles, as well as 21,000 men of the 4th Infantry Division. If all went to plan, they would land at dawn and so become the first Allied soldiers to set foot in Normandy. Utah was the destination of 25-year-old Captain Leonard Schroeder and his men from F Company, 8th Infantry Regiment. Not only did the town straddle the main road to Cherbourg, but it was also just a stoneвЂ™s throw from Utah Beach, the most westerly of the five landing beaches. While the British captured BГ©nouville, and also Ranville, the US paratroopers were fighting their way through the night to Sainte-MГЁre-Г‰glise. вЂњAs we neared the far side of the bridge, still shouting, firing our weapons and lobbing hand grenades, the Germans ran for their lives, scattering in all directions.вЂќ It marked the end of the firefight, with the battle for BГ©nouville Bridge over as dramatically as it began. The men worked with clinical efficiency, aware that it was kill or be killed, until one of ParrвЂ™s comrades sensed that the enemy were losing heart. (Photo by US Army/Interim Archives/Getty Images) US soldiers are helped on to Omaha beach during D-Day. вЂњIf the shrapnel didnвЂ™t get them,вЂќ said Parr, вЂњthe phosphorus would.вЂќ working as a dangerous double-act, pitching grenades (explosive and phosphorus) into the German dugouts surrounding the bridge while their teammates provided covering fire. вЂњCome out and fight, you square-headed bastards,вЂќ screamed Parr. Fearless and highly motivated, they were first to reach BГ©nouville Bridge. !e pair were part of a fiveman team вЂ“ the Scout Section. вЂњCharlie, get out!вЂќ shouted Parr to his buddy, Charles Gardner, when he finally came round. In a shower of fire and debris, the crippled remnants of the glider slammed to a violent halt and for a few moments, the men on board were knocked unconscious. If the bridges were not captured, German Panzer tanks would be able to sweep see was sparks. It was a mission of vital importance for everything that was to follow. His task, and that of the 180 comrades from the 6th Airborne Division, was to capture two strategically vital bridges вЂ“ one at BГ©nouville (better known as Pegasus Bridge) and its neighbour at Ranville. Among the latter was Wally Parr, who had boarded his glider at around 10pm. During the night, no fewer than 13,000 US and 8,500 British soldiers were dropped into Normandy.

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