Las Sabinas, Volume 33, Number 2, 2007 Page: 32
70, [17] p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
continental Europe was held by the Germans. Even the Nazis knew the
Allied forces would have to invade. The Allies depended on surprise as to
when and where.
The Allied invasion came on the Normandy coast on June 6, 1944. Burdine
said his company with the Ninth Infantry Division was originally supposed
to go on June 7 as the first wave of replacements for the casualties from the
invasion. Instead, he went about a month later.
Fighting was still heavy. He went from England to Normandy and landed on
the beach from the landing craft that lowered its front. The soldiers waded
ashore in the salt water.
"There was no place to clean up," he said. "You had to wear those wet
clothes until they dried."
The towns along the shores of Normandy were destroyed. Even inland, parts
of other towns were rubble because of all the fighting and bombing.
"The poor people that lived there had to go someplace else," he said.
The Germans were fighting hard to push the Allies back to the sea. And
Burdine had to deal with the infamous hedgerows of Normandy.
The farms in the region didn't use fences. Long rows of old hedges were
used instead to mark fields. Germans hid in the hedgerows waiting for the
Allies.
On July 28, 1944, after about three weeks in Normandy, Burdine was with a
group of men traveling on a dirt farm road with hedgerows on the sides.
Germans started firing on them and the Americans ducked into a hedgerow.
He heard one mortal shell close by, then another. The third one hit right
beside him, with parts of it tearing into the lower part of his right leg.
"It took out part of the muscle in my right leg and some more little pieces,"
he said.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Orange County Historical Society (Tex.). Las Sabinas, Volume 33, Number 2, 2007, periodical, 2007; Orange, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth312940/m1/40/: accessed May 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Orange County Historical Society.