Who was Howard Vander Beek? And what happened to him on the night before D-Day? Well, it turns out that his quick thinking saved the lives of no fewer than 21,000 men.
Welcome to Season 3 of Unknown History: D-Day Stories. Today we're talking about a young American captain who was destined to play a vital role in the beach landings on June 6, 1944.
D-Day was the biggest seaborne invasion in the history of warfare: five massive fleets, one for each of the five invasion beaches: Force U for Utah Beach, Force O for Omaha, Force J for Juno, Force G for Gold, and Force S for Sword.
Each of these armadas had to be led by someone capable. It was a unique responsibility; one mistake and the entire fleet could be led into one of the many minefields that had been laid all along the French coast.
At the front of Force U—destined for Utah Beach—was Howard Vander Beek, a strong- jawed, white-toothed 27-year-old from Oskaloosa, Iowa.
His wave of blond hair and sharply knotted tie lent an Ivy League preppiness to his nautical dress—at least it did when he was on dry land. But he had now been at sea for many hours and his hair was sluiced with salt and his necktie sodden and listing.
His job was to sail in the vanguard of Force U, a fleet that consisted of 865 vessels that included battleships, destroyers, and frigates. They had sailed from their anchorages spread throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland—at Belfast, Plymouth, Torbay, Weymouth, and Dartmouth—and then grouped together in the English Channel.
Vander Beek’s responsibility was onerous for someone so young, yet his position at the vanguard of this armada was just one of his duties.
Once the fleet had arrived at its anchorage off Utah Beach, he had to guide the hundreds of little landing crafts to the shore, leading them to the exact spot where the men would begin their invasion. One slip, one mistake, and disaster could ensue—for if the men were landed at the wrong place, the long months of training would all have been in vain.
Such an important mission required a special ship and Vander Beek’s craft, LCC 60, was exactly that. She was a control vessel powered by two 255 horsepower engines that enabled her to cruise at fourteen knots. Just 56 feet long and little wider than a London bus, her below-decks space was crammed with weaponry and nautical equipment.
The role entrusted to Vander Beek and his men was so important that it had been kept under wraps. This secrecy had engendered a close camaraderie among the crew. "...
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