Normandy, France, June 6,
1944. All along the beach, thousands of Allied soldiers are fighting
for every inch of land they can get. Across the red-stained sands of Omaha Beach,
scattered and disoriented, the men of L Company, integral to the United States Army's
historic Big Red One 1st Division, find themselves in an unexpected stand. Surrounded by machine-gun-armed Germans hiding in
the dense hedgerows of the Normandy countryside, fragmented voices cut through the chaos, their broken English carrying a
bone-chilling command to surrender. Amidst the invisible threat
of their hidden enemies, Lieutenant Jimmie Monteith refuses to seek
cover. Instead, he steps into the fire, directly walking towards the source of the voices,
the heft of a grenade reassuring in his grip... As Supreme Commander of the Allied
Expeditionary Force in Europe, during the planning of Operation Overlord, General
Dwight D. Eisenhower immediately ensured the 1st Infantry Division, the storied "Big Red One,"
was at the heart of the Normandy invasion. The 1st Infantry Division owed its nickname
to the distinctive shoulder patch worn by its members, an insignia showcasing a bold, red
numeral "1" set against a khaki background, representing its status as the inaugural
permanent division of the regular U.S. Army, organized in 1917 during World War 1. According to historian John McManus,
both Ike and the American high command overall believed the brave men
of Big Red One to be: [QUOTE] "Tempestuous perhaps, but talented and dedicated" For seven months in southwest England, the
men of the Big Red One rigorously prepared for the assault on Omaha Beach, sharpening their
combat skills, both individually and as units, intensifying their training pace and
readiness for the amphibious operation. One such brave man was 26-year-old Lieutenant
Jimmie W. Monteith, a Virginia native who, within the 1st Division, was a platoon
leader in L Company, 3rd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment. By 1944, Monteith
took part in the Sicily invasion and the ensuing battles with the Herman Goering Panzer
Division. His courageous acts, leadership skills, and tactical acumen during these engagements led
to his battlefield promotion to first lieutenant. During the intense training for D-Day, he expressed a deep sense of pride and
confidence in a letter to his family. He praised the readiness of his unit and his
own leadership abilities. He wrote: [QUOTE] "I would not change if I were given the
chance,[...] As for the 1st Division, every time I look at the shoulder insignia I
get a thrill—there is no better fighting unit in the world. . . .There is a great feel
of satisfaction one gets within oneself." After strenuous training, by early June, Monteith and all the Allied forces were ready
to storm Normandy's beaches in the largest amphibious invasion in history and launch
a decisive assault against Nazi tyranny. Shaped like a crescent and hemmed in by
cliffs on both ends, Omaha Beach had five narrow and rudimentary paths leading from the
sandy beach to the villages beyond Cabourg, Colleville-sur-Mer, St. Laurent-sur-Mer, and
Vierville-sur-Mer. The Allies' mission to break Hitler's hold on Europe hinged on
securing these routes. Because of this, the Germans turned the beach into a fortress,
aiming to halt them at the water's edge. Charged with spearheading this
assault were two determined units, the 29th Infantry Division's 116th
Regiment in the west and the Big Red Ones’ 16th Infantry Regiment in the
east, ready to face hell on earth. At the heart of the eastern assault was the 16th
Infantry’s 3rd Battalion, including Companies I, K, and M. Leading L Company in this operation was
Jimmie Monteith. They were assigned a critical mission, a sector in Omaha Beach code-named "Fox
Green" –directly linked to the Colleville draw. Their objective was ambitious yet clear: breach
the defenses at Fox Green, advance to open the draw, and push inland to link up with British
forces further inland. The companies from the Big Red One boarded ships near Dorchester, Dorset,
England, and sailed on the evening of June 5, ready to invade France in the most powerful
amphibious invasion in history the following day. As dawn broke, I and L Companies hit the
beach first, aiming to lead the charge, with K and M right on their heels. But nature had other plans, and chaos
started as soon as they approached the coast. According to historical
records of the 16th Infantry: [QUOTE] "Heavy seas, numerous underwater obstacles, and intense enemy fire destroyed many craft and
caused high casualties even before the assault battalions reached shore. Most supporting
weapons, including DD tanks, were swamped." With the disarray of war throwing the Omaha
Beach assault force inexorably eastward, the 3rd Battalion's carefully planned
arrival became anything but orderly. Disoriented, I Company veered off course
while K and M Company's backup plan stumbled. Monteith's L Company was the only
one to land as a cohesive unit, albeit thirty minutes late and a thousand
yards east of its designated landing spot, reaching the isolated “Fox Red” instead,
dangerously close to the Cabourg draw. As the least useful of the five exits from
Omaha Beach, Cabourg was not contemplated in the planning of Overlord. The draw was nevertheless
a fortress, bristling with barbed wire and minefields, and protected under the watchful guns
of Widerstandsnest 60, WN-60 resistance nest. Perched 130 feet above the beach, the WN-60's
stronghold was equipped with a lethal assortment of defenses: concrete bunkers, mortars,
machine guns, and even a 75-mm anti-tank gun, all connected by a network of trenches
extending inland. Forty German soldiers commanded this bastion, their gaze fixed on
any movement along Omaha's red-tinted sands. Despite the looming threat and
almost insurmountable odds, platoon leader Lieutenant
Monteith's resolve did not waver. When L company hit Omaha beach, the air was
thick with the smell and sound of machine guns, shells, and rifle fires. Quickly, the
soldiers made their way through the German obstacle belt and crossed
two hundred yards of rocky roads right into a cliff on the edge of the
beach that offered temporary shelter. Out of the 200-man company,
only 125 made it. Thankfully, elements from the 29th Infantry Division also
landed nearby and joined them for the fight. Though the base of the
cliffs, right beneath WN-60, provided temporary safety for
the recently landed L-Company, the rising tide, the German mortar fires, and
their mission plans called for an urgent move. Defying the instinct to seek cover
and hide from the enemy's gaze, the leaders of L Company, including Lieutenant
Monteith, boldly decided to charge up the draw. Despite the vigilant oversight from
the German forces stationed above, the landscape's irregular terrain and the dense
hedgerows provided a semblance of concealment, giving them the perfect opportunity to move. Leading the charge with determination
etched into his every step, Lieutenant Jimmie Monteith positioned himself at
the forefront of L Company and rallied his men at the face of their first daunting
obstacle: a labyrinth of heavy barbed wire. Choosing their point of breach with precision, he orchestrated the deployment of a
Bangalore torpedo. With a thunderous roar, the torpedo erupted, tearing through
the entanglements and carving a pathway. With this, Monteith then carefully
led his men through the minefields as L company made their way towards their objective. Soon, the band of warriors found
themselves embroiled in a clash against German defenders. The relentless
rattle of machine guns and the ominous boom of enemy pillboxes forced the
Americans to seek fleeting refuge. Once Monteith ensured his men were safe,
he studied the situation for a minute and, still in the face of heavy fire, ran back to
the beach, where he remembered two Sherman tanks from A Company, 741st Tank Battalion were. Sealed
tightly to shield against the intense machine gun fire, the tanks were left with severely limited
visibility, effectively navigating without sight. Undeterred, Monteith hammered
on the tanks' armored sides, signaling the crew with urgent commands, instructing those inside to follow him right
through the thick of the fire and into action. Leading from the front, Monteith navigated
the duo of Shermans through the mine-strewn landscape. Under his direction, they unleashed
their firepower, obliterating the German machine guns and pillboxes that hindered their
progress, clearing the path for the advance. After neutralizing the immediate threats,
Monteith swiftly established a defensive position. This tactical move ensured
they could withstand any counterattacks, holding the ground until additional forces
arrived from the beach to join the advance. Reinforcements arrived on the right flank of
Lieutenant Monteith's position as additional L Company boat sections began their push up the
draw. Their advance, marked by quick and fierce engagements with the enemy, capitalized on the
initial path carved out by Monteith and his men. Soon after, Captain Kimball Richmond,
with troops from I and K Company, advanced and efficiently overcame
German defenses. Their progress, supported by USS Doyle and mortars from the
beach, allowed them to join forces with L Company. As midday began in Omaha beach,
a sudden flurry of German counter attacks targeted Monteith’s position. The
enemy, abandoning traditional fixed defenses, opted for a guerrilla warfare tactic,
weaving through the hedgerows to launch their assaults and set up machine
gun nests at strategic points. Finding themselves encircled,
nearby German voices demanding surrender tightened around the Americans. But
Monteith didn't falter. Ignoring the calls, he moved with purpose, holding a rifle grenade. Advancing towards the challenge, guided by the
enemy’s voice and the source of the fire, he threw his first grenade but missed. The Germans,
seizing the moment, intensified their fire. Unshaken, Monteith recalibrated
and released another grenade, and this follow-up shot landed true,
silencing the machine gun threat. But the fight wasn’t over just yet. Following a brief pause, additional
machine gun fire hammered the American position. Even with a larger force, the
Germans still couldn't break through, so they set up two machine guns and started
spraying all over the hedgerow with bullets. Time was of the essence. Lieutenant Monteith
swiftly organized a squad of riflemen to target a machine gun pinning them from the right flank.
Covered by their fire, he stealthily approached the enemy position. With quick movements,
he lobbed grenades, neutralizing the threat. Having secured one flank, Monteith didn't pause.
Instead, he dashed across an exposed 200-yard field, braving enemy fire, to tackle another
machine gun nest. His rifle grenades flew, decisively ending the standoff—either the
crew was downed, or they fled their post. But the battle's tide turned again
with renewed enemy fire from the east. Monteith, ever the protector, didn't
hesitate. He moved towards the danger, intent on supporting his men. This time,
however, fate intervened—a precise burst from a light machine gun halted his advance,
marking the valiant end of his fight. Monteith's legacy endured beyond
his final breath. His boat section and L Company continued to repel
German counter attacks that day, diminishing the enemy's presence and ensuring
the safety of Omaha Beach's eastern flank. By the close of D-Day, the easternmost
flank of Omaha Beach had been secured. Two months after the Allied Landings in
Normandy, France, the Big Red One’s 16th Infantry Regiment was honored with a citation for their
extraordinary heroism and outstanding performance, a recognition bestowed upon them by Eisenhower
himself. Ike even went as far as calling the 16th Infantry Regiment his Praetorian Guard,
explicitly telling the 16th’s soldiers: [QUOTE] “I would not have started
the invasion without you.” Lieutenant Jimmie Monteith's life, only a month
shy of his 27th birthday, was cut too short. But his legacy was just beginning. In November
1944, Eisenhower's chief of staff attached a note to Lieutenant Monteith's file, indicating
that the commanders of V Corps, First Army, and the 12th Army Group had all recommended him
for a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross. However, receiving it for a final decision, the Allied Supreme Commander
quickly responded: [QUOTE] "You are mistaken.[...] I must say the thing looks
like a Medal of Honor for me. This man was good." On March 19, 1945, at a ceremony in Richmond,
Virginia, Mrs. Monteith received her son's Medal of Honor from Brigadier General Rupert
E. Starr. His citation ended: [QUOTE] "The courage, gallantry, and intrepid leadership displayed
by 1st Lt. Monteith is worthy of emulation." In one of his many letters,
Jimmie Monteith once wrote that: [QUOTE] "people forget the soldiers who fight
their battles for them in a matter of hours." However, the story of Lieutenant Jimmie Monteith
and his incredible feats on D-Day, where he single-handedly turned defeat into victory on the
bullet-riddled Omaha, will never be forgotten.
