“We had been told that our landing on Omaha was the largest and most difficult assault on a fortified beach in history and if it was as difficult as expected (and it turned out to be worse), we might well be relieved and returned to England in 72 hours. Instead, even though it was so bad and casualties were so high, we fought for 44 straight days after landing:. — Frank Bergstein, writing about the invasion of Normandy, 1944
Before D-Day, Frank David Bergstein had never seen combat. On June 6, 1944, his very first experience in battle was leading a platoon of men onto Omaha Beach with the 115th Regimental Combat Team of the 29th Infantry Division. It would become the deadliest of all beaches invaded on D-Day for Allied troops, as German defenses there were strong.
Frank had grown up in South Avondale, Cincinnati, enlisted in July 1941, completed basic infantry training, and was selected for Officers Candidate School before being assigned to the 29th. After two years of training in England, he and his men landed on D-Day and went on to endure 44 days of combat through France and Germany.
For the rest of his life, Frank struggled to reconcile the horrors of war with raising a family and helping run the family business. Late in life, encouraged by his children, he began writing down his memories. His daughter Connie Bergstein Dow and his brother-in-law John McHaffie compiled these into the book Some Reminiscences of World War II.
We’re privileged to have his daughter, Connie, join us in this episode to share her father’s story.
This episode is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Family Center for Storytelling. Subscribe here https://www.youtube.com/@holocaustandhumanity
Our gratitude to Margaret & Michael Valentine for their ongoing support of this series.
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Episode Resources
Buy Frank’s book
Read more about the 29th Division
https://29thdivisionassociation.com/29th-division-world-war-ii/
https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=878&MemID=1184
https://www.marshallfoundation.org/articles-and-features/d-day-on-omaha-beach/
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/second-world-war/d-day/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-d-day-beaches
