501262 Sandi Conti US Army 834th Engineer Aviation Battalion I am a veteran of the 834th Engineer Aviation Battalion which built
the Matching Green Airfield. I spent two years on building Matching
Green. We left Matching in the Spring of 1944 for intensive training
for D-Day. On D-Day we were in front of Omaha Beach . We made several
attempts at landing, all unsuccessful. We attracted enemy fire which
knocked out an engine on our Rhino Ferry. Landing was now out of the
question since our outboard motors were used for steering as well as
for propulsion. With only one motor operational we could not move in
a straight line. So we could not attempt to go through a cleared
mine field. We were sitting ducks for enemy artillery. The navy
pulled us away from the beach and back to the troopship area. The
vehicles and equipment on the Rhino were transferred to another
landing craft and we finally landed at Saint Laurent sur Mer on D+1.
|