“We bivouacked in a pretty little apple orchard a short distance from the beach. I got to use my high school French with the couple who owned the orchard and their young son.”

Staff Sgt. Richard H. Hobbs in a portrait taken in Gloucester, England, in 1943, and sent to his widowed father and aunt. Hobbs family photo

That is the extent of the information my father, Richard H. Hobbs, shared with his children about his experiences during and after D-Day in Normandy, France. Like many who served in World War II, he simply didn’t want to talk about the difficult times, only the short, pleasant moments, such as an apple orchard.

When I began working at the George C. Marshall Foundation in 2019, one of the first archival items I came to know was the corps-level D-Day map of OMAHA Beach—the last of its kind—that was carried by Gen. Leonard T. Gerow, commander of the beach on June 6, 1944. I wanted to better understand the markings on the map, and my research led me to some facts about my father’s experience as a sergeant on OMAHA Beach during the invasion of Europe. I learned from the U.S. Army in World War II series that he was part of a truck company that landed on OMAHA Beach on D-Day. This amazing piece of the D-Day puzzle left me wanting to know more about how my father prepared for and participated in Operation OVERLORD. I poured over books, maps, and documents (most of them digitized) looking for the information my father didn’t share.

Richard Hobbs enlisted in the District of Columbia National Guard, part of the 29th Infantry Division, in 1940, and was trained to be a military policeman in the 29th Military Police Company. When the 29th was federalized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 3, 1941, with Maj. Gen. Milton Reckord as its commander, Private Hobbs was enlisted into the Quartermaster Corps and sent to Fort Meade, Maryland, as a truck driver. The GMC 2.5 ton, 6×6 truck he was assigned was a bit different from the Model A Ford on which he had learned to drive.

The 29th participated in the large First Army maneuvers in North and South Carolina in October and November 1941. On the return to Fort Meade, portions of the unit encamped at the old Civilian Conservation Corps land that later became Camp Pickett (now Fort Barfoot), Virginia, on Saturday, Dec. 6, where they heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor the next day. Training continued throughout the spring and summer of 1942 at Fort A.P. Hill (now Fort Walker), Virginia, and Camp Blanding, Florida. Private Hobbs carried soldiers and equipment for this training, driving many miles and long days.

Maj. Gen. Leonard T. Gerow took command of the unit just a few days before Corp. Hobbs boarded the Queen Mary for the trip to England. He was based in Gloucester, in southern England; although he spent a lot of time carrying men, and hauling equipment and supplies throughout England during the next 18 months. My father said that many roads were lined by stone walls and hedgerows, and were too narrow for the big trucks, but they had to make it work. He thought there was probably some ruined landscaping after the big 6×6 vehicles rumbled through.

In February 1944, Sgt. Hobbs, now in the 3704th Quartermaster Truck Company, part of the 6th Engineer Special Brigade, participated in amphibious training at Goodrington Sands, Devon, as the truck company had no previous training in amphibious landings.

My father broke down speaking to her about the injured and dead; men that he had known and worked with since 1940. My mother told me that he never again spoke of D-Day.

In May, Sgt. Hobbs and his truck were stationed in Torquay, on the Devon Coast, in preparation for the invasion. By June 3, he had driven his truck, with a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on top, onto the deck of an LST (landing ship, tank) with other trucks, equipment, and soldiers in preparation for the journey across the English Channel. The weather was good June 4, but horrible June 5 with rain and wind. My father said the Channel was very rough, and many of the soldiers were seasick. He was grateful not to be susceptible to seasickness. The 6th Engineer Special Brigade was scheduled to support the Charlie, Dog White, Dog Red, and Easy Green sections of OMAHA Beach, in support of the 116th Regimental Combat Team companies, including Company A, also known as the “Bedford Boys.”

Before dawn on June 6, Sgt. Hobbs likely drove his truck onto Rhino ferry 1221 headed for OMAHA Beach. The large craft was loaded with 39 vehicles and 94 men. They could hear the naval bombardment and knew the invasion had begun, but the fog was so bad the soldiers couldn’t see the beach, even in daylight. Several hours after the invasion began, the Seabee crew started the outboard motors on the Rhino and motored as close to the shore as possible. Sgt. Hobbs drove his truck down the ramp, into the surf, and chugged onto the shore of the Dog Red section of OMAHA Beach, near St.-Laurent-sur-Mer, France.

Map showing the Dog Red section of OMAHA Beach. Wikimedia Commons graphic.

I recently learned from my mother that during a very dark time for him in 1964—the 20th anniversary of D-Day—my father spoke to her about driving onto OMAHA Beach on June 6. He said that a lane had been cleared of obstacles, land mines, and casualties to allow the trucks to traverse the beach. Around him was the chaos of a battle not yet ended; medics tending to wounded soldiers, artillery and small arms fire, broken equipment, and the bodies of soldiers lying where they fell. My father broke down speaking to her about the injured and dead; men that he had known and worked with since 1940. My mother told me that he never again spoke of D-Day.

The trucks of the 3704th were loaded with ammunition, rations, and engineer equipment. At first, supplies piled up on the beach faster than the few trucks ashore could move them inland to the initial supply dumps. Transfer points were established on the beach to enable DUKWs (cargo boats with wheels) to transfer sling loads—equipment carried in a net—onto the waiting trucks. On OMAHA beach, the “traffic was controlled from a tower, and instructions were given over a public address system. Luminous markers made night operations possible.”

The work was dangerous and without end:

“The drivers worked long and hard, snatching sleep wherever possible and subsisting on K rations. Because the trucks ran twenty-four hours a day, there was no time for the normally prescribed maintenance. Mechanics salvaged parts from deadlined trucks in order to keep others running. White strips of tape were laid to indicate the cleared roads through the mine fields. Sacks of sand were piled on the floor of the cabs as a protection against land mines. German snipers were active for several days, and enemy air raids and shellfire kept all beach personnel on the alert. Rain and mud also hindered the trucking operations.”

Sgt. Hobbs and his assistant driver began innumerable round trips from the beach to the inland dumps. To stay awake while driving long hours, my father recited epic poems such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Paul Revere’s Ride” and “The Song of Hiawatha,” which he had memorized as a child.

My father’s one statement about the invasion, “We bivouacked in a pretty little apple orchard a short distance from the beach. I got to use my high school French with the couple who owned the orchard and their young son” was corroborated in The Transportation Corps  which notes that the “first bivouac area was set up in a large apple orchard near St. Pierre-du-Mont.” The LeBrec apple orchard, which recently had been abandoned by the retreating Germany army before being occupied by the quartermasters, is still there.

Although the trip was highly secretive, Sgt. Hobbs probably didn’t know that the Joint Chiefs of Staff visited OMAHA Beach on June 12. The Chiefs arrival was rather anonymous—they climbed out of a DUKW with no fanfare or greeting party—so he may have driven by, unaware.

Modern photo of the Dog Red section of OMAHA Beach, with the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc in the background. Wiki Commons photo.

Sgt. Hobbs turned 27 on June 14, a week after D-Day, driving a truck on OMAHA Beach. The 3704th Quartermaster Truck Company soon left the beach and spent the rest of the war following units that were moving forward. SSgt. Hobbs carried supplies to the front and wounded and prisoners of war to the rear throughout France, Belgium, and Germany. Since his company was not permanently attached to any one unit, my father said they were an independent truck company, which normally doesn’t exist on the Army’s Table or Organization and Equipment. I have not found records following the 3704th through Europe, and the records might not exist from the company’s independent status; if the records do exist, they are not digitized. My father’s military personnel records were burned in a National Archives fire in the 1970s, so the details in this article may be all I learn of his service. What a research journey it has been, starting with a very important map.

About the Author

Melissa has been at GCMF since 2019, and previously was an academic librarian specializing in history. She and her husband, John, have three grown children, and live in Rockbridge County with their rescue dogs.

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George C. Marshall’s world was larger than one man. It was shaped by soldiers and statesmen, codebreakers and commanders, public servants and ordinary Americans caught inside the machinery of war, occupation, and reconstruction.

The Age of Marshall podcast from the George C. Marshall Foundation explores Marshall, his era, and the world he helped shape. Host Glen J. Carpenter talks with historians and authors whose work brings new depth to the people, problems, and decisions surrounding Marshall’s life and legacy. The first five episodes are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other major platforms. Start anywhere, or listen from the beginning.

Episodes

The first season begins with five conversations on the people, decisions, and historical forces that defined Marshall’s century.

Episode 1 | Anna Rosenberg: Marshall’s Secret Weapon

Christopher C. Gorham, author of The Confidante: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WWII and Shape Modern America, joins Glen J. Carpenter for a conversation about Anna Rosenberg’s remarkable career. From New York politics to the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, Rosenberg became a trusted adviser on manpower, civil rights, the GI Bill, and the early Cold War Pentagon.

Runtime: 30:33

Episode 2 | George Marshall and George Patton

Historian J. Furman Daniel III joins Glen J. Carpenter to examine the long, complicated relationship between George C. Marshall and George S. Patton. The conversation looks at Marshall as mentor, manager, and judge of talent; Patton as a brilliant and volatile field commander; and the difficult balance between recognizing genius and controlling its liabilities.

Runtime: 22:19

Episode 3 | Codebreaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman

Amy Butler Greenfield, author of The Woman All Spies Fear: Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life, joins Glen J. Carpenter for a conversation about one of the most remarkable intelligence figures of the 20th century. The episode follows Friedman from Riverbank Laboratories to professional codebreaking, her work against rum runners and wartime espionage networks, and the Friedman papers now preserved at the George C. Marshall Foundation.

Runtime: 35:32

Episode 4 | How the U.S. Army Learned What Soldiers Really Thought

Dr. Ed Gitre of Virginia Tech joins Glen J. Carpenter to discuss The American Soldier in World War II, a major digital history project built around wartime surveys and firsthand responses from American service members. Their conversation explores how the Army used social science to understand morale, training, propaganda, race, gender, civilian transition, and the everyday experience of soldiers during World War II.

Runtime: 34:40

Episode 5 | The U.S. Army in Occupied Germany

Dr. Ashley Vance joins Glen J. Carpenter for a conversation about the U.S. Army in occupied Germany after World War II. The episode examines daily life after Germany’s surrender, the collapse and reconstruction of local authority, the cigarette economy, demobilization, the U.S. Constabulary, the Berlin Airlift, American families in Germany, and the Army’s transition from occupation duty to Cold War deterrence.

Runtime: 41:14

About the Show

Age of Marshall extends the work of the George C. Marshall Foundation into conversation. Each episode brings historians and authors into direct discussion about the people, events, and ideas that shaped Marshall’s world and the legacy of the soldier-statesman whose leadership helped define the 20th century. The show is designed for listeners who want serious history in an accessible format: grounded in scholarship, connected to the Foundation’s collections and public programs, and focused on the wider world Marshall helped shape.

Age of Marshall was established through the generosity of Jessine Monaghan, whose support made this series possible. The George C. Marshall Foundation presents this series in honor of her memory and her dedicated service as a Trustee.

Host

Glen J. Carpenter is Director of Communications at the George C. Marshall Foundation, where he leads the Foundation’s editorial, digital, design, and multimedia initiatives. His background in cultural studies and video production, Glen lives with his partner, Chris, in Roanoke, Virginia.

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