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D for Day, H for Hour are abbreviations for the undetermined (or secret) day and hour that the Normandy Invasion would begin. It’s U.S. military terminology allowing for precise planning without giving away the date and time. The French used the code date “le jour j” and the British called it “Z-Day” and “Zero-Hour.”
There were actually two D-Days. The first took place Sept. 7, 1918, when the US First Army led by General Pershing was to attack at H hour on D day with the object of forcing the evacuation of St. Mihiel salient. The salient was a ridge near Verdun.
D-Day H-Hour in 1944 The Normandy Invasion began at 6:30 a.m. (local French time) June 6, 1944. It had been delayed by a day because of bad weather.
A total of 156,000 Allied soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy. Four thousand were killed and thousands more were wounded or missing. By June 11, about 326,000 men, 50,000 vehicles, and 100,000 tons of equipment had been landed.
The German forces were led by Field Marshall and General Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) who had been tasked with finishing the Atlantic Wall, 2,400 miles of bunkers, landmines and obstacles. General Rommel, known as the “Desert Fox,” was away on leave during the invasion.
Local Elgin (Type) participant: Carl Kermit Nygard took part in the Normandy Invasion and was later wounded at Metz in France. He was born Sept. 4, 1916, the only child of Christopher Nygard and Emma Larsberg. Christopher’s father was Peder Knudsen Nygaard and Christine Christoffersen, both born in 1859, in Denmark. His mother Emma, born in the Elgin area, was the daughter of Carl Gustaf Larsberg and Anna Marie Swenson. Kermit died July 19, 2004, at the age of 87, and he is buried in the Type Cemetery, land which had been donated to the Swedish Free Mission Church by Peder and Christine Nygaard.
Kermit received the Bronze Star medal for Valor and the Purple Heart medal for wounds received in action. He was wounded during the three-month battle of Metz from September 1944 through December. The leaders were Lt. General George Patton leader of the US Third Army and Otto von Knobelsdorff on the German side.
Metz was in Lorraine, an area in the border land between France and Germany and was called Elsass Lothringen in German. It had gone from one country to another having been part of Germany from 1871 to 1918.
During the battle of Metz, there were heavy losses on both sides, but ultimately, the US won. The city of Metz was in a line between Strasbourg and Luxembourg. The cathedral which survived is dedicated to Saint Stephen. The diocese dates back at least to the 4th century and the present cathedral building was begun in the early 14th century. The treasury of the cathedral displays a rich collection assembled over the long centuries of the history of the Metz diocese and includes sacred vestments and items used for the Eucharist. Metz Cathedral has the third-highest nave (the main part of the interior) of French cathedrals at 135.9 feet. Its nickname is la Lanterne du Bon Dieu (“the Good Lord’s lantern”), because it displays the largest expanse of stained glass in the world, totaling 69,920 square feet. It’s obvious that both sides wished to spare the historic building. Too bad they didn’t feel that way about each other.
Charlene Hanson Jordan wrote the above narrative as the latest in a weekly column based on new research which does not appear in her books. Each story along with photographs/supplemental history, as well as new stories, and articles about local Swedes and Germans will appear in her soon-to-be launched Patreon website.
Her latest book, “NOTES & RECOLLECTIONS, Post Oak Island & Elgin, Texas,” is available at the Elgin Depot Museum where exhibits, photographs, and books on local history are also available. The museum is open on Fridays & Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. and during Sip, Shop, and Stroll on the first Thursday of each month. Watch for notices.
“Notes & Recollections” may be purchased from the Niswanders at the Elgin Farmers Market, Veterans Memorial Park.
The book is also available at the Elgin Courier office, 105 N. Main Street, Elgin, 512-285-3333, during business hours all week or from Charlene directly at charlenehansonjordan@ yahoo. com or 512-856-2562.
