Note 61 — Chapter V · A Day: 20 October 1944

The shore parties on both Red and White Beaches (X Corps sector) did not land early enough to effect a proper organization before the cargo began to come in. Although the parties worked hard, they were undermanned, and it was necessary to augment them by “volunteers” in order to unload the large volume of cargo.61 It had been planned to establish temporary beach dumps at the point of unloading of each LST, but since at Red Beach the LST’s could not get ashore, the plans had to be changed. These craft were diverted to the 1st Cavalry Division’s White Beach 2,000 yards north. The LSM’s and LCM’s were able to discharge their vehicles in three or four feet of water. Many of these, being poorly waterproofed, stalled and had to be pulled ashore. Once there, the heavily loaded vehicles churned up the sand, and many of them sank so deeply that they had to be pulled out.62