Ensign Robert H. Burch, Jr., and 26 men of B-4, along with 15 from the 531st Shore Engineers, landed on the northern half of Red Beach, designated Red Beach 1. Machine-gun fire here was nonexistent and artillery fire sporadic. Burch and an engineer sergeant uncovered an exit road and soon had their men laying out a steel-mat roadway so heavy equipment could cross the soft sand between the water’s edge and the road. DUKWs (’Ducks’–amphibious trucks) brought ashore 105mm howitzers and tanks–artillery and armor that would eventually lend support to the hard-pressed beaches to the south.

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Landing on the southern half of Red Beach (Red Beach 2) was a tougher proposition. As the sky brightened, German fire intensified and machine-gunners inside the Torre di Paestum began spraying the beach. The sailors could only hunker down in their shallow foxholes as bullets clipped the beach grass above their heads. ‘The 88s began firing rapidly,’ recalled Stephens. ‘Soon they hit some of our LCVPs that were coming onto the beach. There was a sandbar about 20 to 25 feet from the beach that stopped all LCVPs. When the ramp was lowered, the men were hesitant about getting their feet wet, until 88s hit the water, one on each side of the boat. Needless to say the craft emptied in a hurry.’

Platoon B-6 splashed ashore at Green Beach. German fire, much of it from the Torre di Paestum area, swept the southern half of the beach all through D-day. A rocket-firing scout boat had silenced German guns sited on the northern half of the beach, and DUKWs as well as other craft landed unmolested.

Farther south, Platoon C-7 hit Yellow Beach about 3:45 a.m., followed by C-8. Seaman Al Benevelli remembered: ‘Going in with the landing craft, we hit a sandbar, and I was knocked forward. A bullet hit the ensign behind me right in the chest and killed him. If we hadn’t hit that sandbar, I wouldn’t be here today.’ Once ashore, according to Benevelli, ‘We went up the beach on our bellies, bullets going over our heads….All this time, our own ships were sending shells over our heads.’ Despite the enemy fire, sailors started blowing up sandbars and other obstacles, clearing and marking minefields, placing bangalore torpedoes under barbed wire and establishing communications centers and casualty stations.

Meanwhile, at 3:45 a.m., Platoon C-9 landed on Blue Beach, midway between Agropoli and Paestum. As they waded ashore they could see three German tanks moving up to the beach. Corpsman Elmer ‘John’ Johnstone recalled: ‘They were right behind the sand dunes….We could hear them yelling from one tank to the other.’ Once in position, the tanks soon began shelling approaching boats, sometimes scoring direct hits. The fire was so heavy that the fourth boat wave was the last to land on Blue Beach; the others diverted elsewhere. Top priority for the men who had made it ashore was digging in. As Lieutenant Jud Bentley, a beachmaster, put it, ‘Early on, we were all as far underground as our foxholes would permit.’

There was certainly no cover available on open water, however. Dozens of boats–LSTs (landing ships, tank), LCTs (landing craft, tank) and DUKWs–carrying desperately needed tanks and guns were unable to land because of heavy fire. Many that were able to make it to shore found too few men to unload their cargoes when they got there and simply dumped their loads on the beach. As a result, piles of supplies accumulated at the water’s edge, spilling into the surf, which kept other boats from reaching shore. All of the landing craft had to run the gantlet of 88 fire as they went back out to sea, and many were hit.

The Luftwaffe made an appearance over the beaches as well. Signalman Paul Deese recalled: ‘The German dive bombers began to drop bombs along the beach area, and one LST had a direct hit. Many lives were lost. Our medical personnel had to go aboard and bring out the bodies.’ Deese added: ‘German planes would come out of the sun and strafe the beaches….The German pilots [were] almost at eye level as they went up the beaches. If you were caught in the open, all you could do was to fall on your face and pray–there was no cover.’

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