D-Day: They were there...

D-Day vets Willis Havemeier, Marv Haberman recall the Big One

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Sixty years ago, more than 175,000 American, British, Canadian, French, Polish, Norwegian and military troops of other nationalities sailed on 5,300 vessels in the first 24 hours of the Normandy, France Invasion.

Tens of thousands of troops were killed, wounded and missing. The biggest amphibious assault in history took them to small towns and Paris as they halted the spread of fascism.

MOore han 425,000 Allied and German troops died in the three months that followed in the battle of Normandy.

Two New Ulm men, Willis Havemeier and Marv Haberman, recalled their experiences.

At age 22, Havemeier landed at Normandy 25 days after D-Day. A sergeant with the 843rd Army Aviation Engineers, he helped build airstrips in England and France.

His infantry training at McCord Field in Washington state served him well. It included a couple memorable hikes up Mount Ranier.

Sleeping in four feet of snow, they got up at 4 a.m., ate breakfast and put on their full field packs, a gas mask, rifle, helmet and canteen of water that was to last them all day.

The troops covered 30 miles in 10 hours with no food between the start and finish.

"It was a test to see how much a person could endure," Havemeier said. "Many men aged 38-42 broke down and got medical discharges.

Havemeier and 9,000 troops rode the former luxury liner Mariposa, converted to a troop transport, across the Atlantic.

He recalled landing at Omaha Beach on July 1:

Things were pretty well jammed up there with more than 5,000 boats that stretched as far as we could see. Lots of debris was lying around yet. Wrecked landing craft and demolished tanks. Everything blown to bits including bodies. There was no time to clean up.

War is hell on earth. It's destruction includes men and women being killed, wounded or maimed in many ways including loss of limbs, sight, shell shock, etc. Many never got over the tragedies.

His unit was the first to arrive at LeBourget Airfield, where Charles Lindberg landed after his transatlantic flight in 1927. The airfield was destroyed by bombers.

Havemeier and his unit rebuilt muddy airfield runways, taxiways and hard stands (where plans are parked) with their sweat, muscle and blood in the rain, cold and snow. Men were injured doing heavy lifting without the aid of heavy equipment.

His unit and German POWs closed up bomb craters and rebuilt or repaired hangars, mess halls, theaters, infirmaries, showers and rest rooms and barracks on 40 bases for the Air Force. Work days were 10-18 hours long, six days a week, amid German air raids.

The unit earned 5 battle stars in 5 major campaigns in 2 1/2 years.

Havemeier went to a country school near Essig. He farmed for 70 years before moving to New Ulm.

Haberman was working as a barber in Madelia when he was drafted into the Army. In an artillery unit, he and 7,000 troops rode a troop transport across the Atlantic in a convoy of 30 ships.

Religion became an important part of his life. He regularly attended Catholic services and usually avoided playing poker.

"I wanted to get closer to God," Haberman said.

Haberman and his buddies had to wait 3 hours for the tide to go out before they hit the beach amid a wall of German gunfire from many directions. Wires and cement structures placed by the Germans made the landing that much tougher.

During the landing at Utah Beach, he learned it was very important to stay low. Being strafed and shelled by the Germans at ground level and from above was a regular event.

"The Germans left were dug into pillboxes," Haberman said. "There was enough of them to make it real miserable. We were scared to death but realized it was a job we had to do."

That night, he and his buddies tried to get some sleep by putting a tarp over their heads.

Another night, Haberman smelled the strong scent of sulphur after a German bombing raid. A bomb just missed most of him, but left some shrapnal in his body and destroyed his mess kit (lunch box).

Tired and hungry after a long march, he tried to get some sleep in a hay mound one night. The sergeant at arms walked by, looking for guards.

"He must have thought I looked too tired to do much good. He didn't pick me," Haberman said.

He and a buddy were strafed, but not hit while walking across an open field the next day.

"I can't complain, although there were times when it was rough," Haberman said.

He once won $80 in a crap game but gave most of it away to several friends after he was told not to carry much cash.

Meals consisted of canned rations. Luxuries were a box of Crackerjacks, biscuits, a couple cigarettes and a piece of candy.

Haberman earned the Bronz Star and survived 5 major battles.

Among his clearest memories was visiting Paris amidst German V1 and V2 bombs and missiles. All-night blackouts due to the air raids made it hard for him to find his way around Picadilly Square.

A D-Day Concert for all veterans featuring the Original German Band of New Ulm will he held from 5-6:30 p.m. Sunday at Turner Hall. World War II movies will be shown on a wide screen in the Dutch Room. Refreshments, brats and landjaegers will be available.