<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>D-Day. June 6, 1944. </p><p>The words bring to mind images of hundreds of landing craft, machines, and American fighting forces landing on the beaches of faraway places. D-Day was the largest seaborne invasion in modern history. Thousands of soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Forces invaded Normandy to liberate Western Europe during World War II.</p><p>And this flag was there. </p><figure class="image media-element file-default"><img alt="An American Flag, the red and white stripes are literally tattered from use." rel="lightbox" src="https://americanhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/JN2019-01078%2C%20American%20Flag.jpg"><figcaption>This flag, which flew aboard LCC 60 on D-Day, was donated by Bert Kreuk and Theo Schols to the people of the United States in memory of the service and sacrifices made by all Americans in the liberation of Europe during World War II.</figcaption></figure><p>In the early hours of D-Day, a massive naval armada floated several miles off the enemy-held coast of France. The ships would soon deliver soldiers to five beaches. Aboard the ships, orders bellowed over loudspeakers, telling soldiers to stand by and prepare to board an array of landing craft to bring them to shore.</p><p>A few specialized ships, called “Landing Craft, Control” or “LCC,” would guide the vessels carrying tanks and personnel to the correct sectors of the beaches and help control the movement as vessel after vessel approached the shore.</p><p>This flag flew aboard<em> LCC 60</em>, a vessel that guided waves of swimming tanks and landing craft to the “Tare Green” and “Uncle Red” sectors of Utah Beach.</p><figure class="image media-element file-default"><img alt="A black and white photograph of a military ship" rel="lightbox" src="https://americanhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/LCC.jpg"><figcaption>Landing Craft, Control (LCC) were 56 feet long and cruised at a maximum speed of 13.5 knots, about the size of many modern sport fishing boats. They had practically no creature comforts for their 14-person crew, and the little craft sported considerable specialized equipment, including radar and radio transmitters, direction finders, and underwater sound equipment. Courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command.</figcaption></figure><p><em>LCC 60</em> was captained by a 26-year-old English major from Oskaloosa, Iowa: Lieutenant (junior grade) Howard Vander Beek. His orders were to move <em>LCC 60</em> into its position as a secondary control ship, providing backup to the primary control ship and guiding landing craft to “Tare Green.” </p><p>As they waited, Vander Beek and his crew heard enemy shellfire directed at them. Suddenly, the primary control vessel for “Uncle Red” sank—victim of an enemy sea mine. Moments later, in <em>LCC 60</em>’s sector, a landing craft carrying tanks struck a sea mine and sank.</p><p>Meanwhile, a deafening roar swept the area as American bomber aircraft hammered the beaches. Naval gunfire erupted, with dust and smoke soon enveloping the entire coastline ahead of <em>LCC 60</em>.</p><p>Vander Beek received word that his craft’s counterpart in “Uncle Red,” <em>LCC 80</em>, was unable to maneuver after a buoy line fouled the propeller. The primary control ship for “Tare Green” directed <em>LCC 60</em> to shepherd all the invading ships to shore in “Uncle Red” as well as continue providing support for “Tare Green.”</p><p>As the sun began to rise, Vander Beek turned to see what he called “the greatest armada the world had ever known, the greatest it would ever know” behind him. </p><p>He later recalled the “many great, gray ships majestically poised in their positions; larger numbers of unwieldy landing vessels heaved by the heavy sea; and countless numbers of smaller amphibious craft tossed mercilessly by the waves.” </p><p>Then the aquatic invasion began.</p><figure class="image media-element file-default"><img alt="A black and white photograph of troops coming ashore on Utah Beach." rel="lightbox" src="https://americanhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/915px-Utah_Beach_Landing.jpg"><figcaption>Soldiers disembarking on Utah Beach. Courtesy of the Conseil Régional de Basse-Normandie / National Archives.</figcaption></figure><p><em>LCC 60</em> helped move the tank landing craft in closer, then turned to control duties in “Uncle Red,” directing waves of tanks and men ashore.</p><p>Unbeknownst to the men of <em>LCC 60</em>, the combination of limited visibility with a strong ocean current and winds caused the first wave of landing craft they directed to come ashore about 1,000 to 1,500 yards south of the intended landing zone. Fortunately, this section of the beach had few obstacles and even fewer defenders. Among the men landing on that section of beach was Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., Assistant Division Commander of the Fourth Infantry. He scouted the landing area and declared, “We’ll start the war from right here!”</p><figure class="image media-element file-default"><img alt="A black and white photograph of the crew of the airplane. " rel="lightbox" src="https://americanhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/DDayLCC.png"><figcaption>Crew of <em>LCC 60</em>. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions.</figcaption></figure><p>The <em>LCC 60</em> was relieved of her duties that afternoon. Vander Beek was summoned to brief senior leaders and war correspondents on the landings. After answering their questions, he returned to <em>LCC 60</em> and spent the remainder of the day shuttling personnel from ship to ship. “Finally, somehow, the day that had begun an eternity before back in England ended sometime before the sun set,” he recalled.</p><figure class="image media-element file-default"><img alt="A blue field with one round hole at the bottom" rel="lightbox" src="https://americanhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/JN2019-01078%20Blue%20Field.jpg"><figcaption>A circular hole found in the blue field is believed to have been made by an enemy machine gun bullet off Utah Beach.</figcaption></figure><p>In published recollections of his wartime experiences, Vander Beek never mentions his one souvenir of D-Day: <em>LCC 60</em>’s flag. The 48-star flag, its leading edge tattered and worn from ocean winds, was used at D-Day and again in a later invasion of Southern France, Operation Dragoon. A circular hole found in the blue field is believed to have been made by an enemy machine gun bullet off Utah Beach. </p><p>Vander Beek later removed the flag and kept it safely in his home until his death in 2014.</p><p>Flags do many things: they tell stories about our nation’s battle for independence, they symbolize sacrifices made, and they often unite the nation during key historic moments. Vander Beek understood this. In his memoir, describing the flags of D-Day, he wrote, “Flashes of color lifted our spirits, particularly those of the American flag waving majestically over the beach. Knowing that it had been raised by men whom we had led in the assault fed our pride.”</p><p>This year, as we commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day, we also celebrate the homecoming of this important flag as it joins the National Museum of American History’s collections. </p><p><em>Jennifer Jones is a curator in the Office of Curatorial Affairs. </em></p><p><em>Frank Blazich Jr. is a curator in the Division of Political and Military History.</em></p><p><br> </p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-authors field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Author(s): </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Frank Blazich and Jennifer Jones</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-posted-date field-type-datetime field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Posted Date: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Thursday, July 18, 2019 - 15:30</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Categories: </h3><ul class="links"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/blog-tags/collections">From the Collections</a></li></ul></div><div class="feedflare"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?a=n4WxAXNf2RM:BlxaLyEC94M:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?a=n4WxAXNf2RM:BlxaLyEC94M:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?a=n4WxAXNf2RM:BlxaLyEC94M:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?i=n4WxAXNf2RM:BlxaLyEC94M:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?a=n4WxAXNf2RM:BlxaLyEC94M:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?i=n4WxAXNf2RM:BlxaLyEC94M:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?a=n4WxAXNf2RM:BlxaLyEC94M:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/OSayCanYouSee?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OSayCanYouSee/~4/n4WxAXNf2RM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
