D-Day
D-Day memories, O'Brien Reeve
O'Brien Reeve, Flotilla Officer, Royal Navy, 1944.
O'Brien Reeve travelled from New Zealand to England as a volunteer for the Royal Navy. Before D-Day he had specialist training in Combined Operations – Army, Navy and Airforce and became a Flotilla Officer. On D-Day he was in charge of a dozen landing craft transporting American troops to Omaha Beach.
Haircuts
O'Brien Reeve relates how he and his friends prepared for their service in France.
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Transcript
'I remember that three of us, two of my fellow officers and myself, thought it would be a good idea, if we were going to land in France (we knew it would be France) we'd better make sure, from the point of view of hygiene – we didn't know what water situation would be like – so we'd better have a good haircut. So we shaved each other's head and we looked quite monstrous actually … and as you can see, a little of it came back!'
Landing Craft Infantry's running onto the beach on D-Day
Royal New Zealand Naval Museum
Top secret operation
As an Officer, O'Brien Reeve got 48 hours notice of the D-Day landing and knew the American troops he was transporting were heading for Omaha Beach. But details about the landing were highly secret – and for everyone it was a waiting game.
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Transcript
'It was a case of batten down the hatches, loading troops, guns – and they were kept there on board til we sailed, so they couldn't get out to talk to anybody, any civilians.
How many men were on board your boat?
About 70 or 80.
Did they get restless?
They wanted to get going. The inertia is terrible for fit and fighting people.
So how did they fill in their time?
Smoking cigars and playing cards – singing. They seemed happy enough, "Let's get it with it", sort of thing.
When did the orders come that you were away?
The night of 4 June. We weren't allowed to open them til the 5th of June.
So they came to you in an envelope?
Yes, delivered, sealed. You weren't allowed to open 'til 5th and then realised where we were going and what column we were going to be in, who was going to be heading the column of ships going across the channel. Of course there were thousands of them.
So until that moment it was completely secret?
Yes, absolutely.'
Carnage at Omaha Beach
The Allies had not expected Omaha Beach to be as heavily defended as it was, and casualties were very high. Thousands were killed there on D-Day and O'Brien Reeve remembers the scene vividly. Over the following days the crews became numbed to the cost of the battle.
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Transcript
'I know we became almost immune to the scene of bodies floating – and I'm not trying to be dramatic about this. For example an American landing craft would go by and tell us that a British body was floating in XYZ position and we'd go and have a look at it and say "Oh no, it's an American body", and just leave it. Terrible thing. 'Cos you know when you pick up a body that's been in the water for a while the flesh just comes away. Terrible business.
If they were British bodies would you go to find them?
We'd pick them up, put a hammock underneath them and lift them up. Whether we took them aboard or not I don't know. We wouldn't have taken some of them aboard, we'd just sink them.
Because they were so disintegrated?
That's right.'
Sword Beach the day after D-Day, 7 June 1944.
Royal New Zealand Naval Museum, AUC 0066
French Friends
After landing on the Normandy coast, O'Brien Reeve and his fellow officers were based in villages and got to know some local people.
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this sound file (mp3, 430k)
Transcript
'The French were very kind too to us – those who lived near or were allowed to stay near the beaches. We went a little further inland and made some great friends.
For example in Le Havre when we went to open up that harbour after D-Day, there was a magnificent family who looked after us. I shall never forget that family and I shall tell you a story slightly against myself and a friend.
The French interpreter aboard ship was a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and when we got to Le Havre we got the ship's motor bike out and thought we'd go and look at the place because we wanted to establish a headquarters there before we tried to clear the harbour. And as sailors do sometimes, not very often, we fell into the nearest café and were consuming some French alcohol, which was very nice, and my friend Thomas he was saying in quite a loud voice – and there were some women in the bar and men – what an extraordinary, bombed out place this was but he didn't put it like that – he was using straight-forward language, rather coarse. And suddenly a well-dressed lady detached herself from a table in the bar and came along and said "It is so nice to hear the English language spoken once again." And we felt very embarrassed by it all, I tell you. But she and her husband were wonderful people. I have very happy memories of the French people. I'd like to think some of them were still around.'
O'Brien Reeve, May 2004.
Pictures of O'Brien Reeve are from his collection.
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