Artwork: Keith Rocco
Lieutenant Jimmie Monteith, Company L, 16th Infantry Regiment, arrived off Omaha Beach with the first assault wave, on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Arriving hundreds of yards east of their designated landing zone, Lt. Monteith helped lead L Company men under intense fire some 200 yards to shelter at the base of the cliffs overlooking the beach.
To exit the beach, L Company would have to move through the Cabourg draw, defended by German bunker WN 60. When his company commander was badly wounded, Monteith moved under heavy fire to reach two Sherman Duplex Drive tanks, directing them to use their 75mm gun and machine guns to suppress the German fire.
After opening a barbed wire barrier with a Bangalore torpedo, Monteith led his men through a minefield, quickly engaging the German defenders of WN 60.
Returning under heavy fire to the two tanks on the beach, he led them on foot through a minefield to better firing positions. With suppressing fire from the tanks, as well as off-shore fire from the destroyer USS Doyle, Monteith led his men up the draw to reach the hedgerows overlooking the beach.
By mid-morning, L Company had advanced about 600 yards behind WN 60 when the Germans mounted a strong counterattack. Surrounding Monteith’s position, they demanded the Americans surrender. Instead, Monteith stood and fired two rifle grenades, silencing a German machine gun. Directing his men to provide covering fire, Monteith knocked out a second machine gun with more grenades, then moved 200 yards over open ground to silence a third. When German fire intensified, Monteith was struck several times and killed.
When Lieutenant Monteith was recommended for the Medal of Honor, General Eisenhower wrote, “…I must say that the thing [Monteith’s actions] looks like a Medal of Honor to me. This man was good.” First Lt. James Monteith received the Medal of Honor posthumously on March 29, 1945, and is buried in the Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France.
Headgear: M1 Helmet with unit insignia and white lieutenant’s bar. Some officers painted their rank bar on the back, others on the front.
M7 ASSAULT Gas Mask BAG: The bag carried the M5-11-7 Assault Gas Mask.
Uniform: Winter Combat Jacket, wool, olive drab trousers, M1938 canvas leggings.
Gas Bassard: Covering the upper arm, these were issued to all Allied troops, and would change color in the presense of chemical agents.
Life Preserver: The M1926 flotation belt could be inflated by activating two CO2 bottles inside it, or by blowing into two rubber tubes.
WEBGEAR: M1936 pistol belt with M1923 double magazine pouch for the M1911 Colt automatic pistol, shown in a M1916 holster, M1942 field dressing pouch, and M1910 canteen.
M1 Thompson submachine gun: WWII era, simplified construction for speed of manufacturing.
What a true hero.