The Day I Became a Man

Pfc. James Scott dropped from the rope ladder into his Higgins Boat; he was next to the last of the 36 members of his Platoon. A navy coxswain manned the helm and two navy seamen manned each of the guns one mounted on each side of the stern. Lt. Moore was near the front, surrounded by a Master Sergeant, three other sergeants, a radio operator and an aid to carry the radio. The medic, Sgt. Carson road near the stern of the boat so as to be among the last of the men to leave. It seemed to Pfc. Scott and all the men that it took forever for the boat to make the final turn and head toward the beach. He looked over the side just in time to see the boat to their right explode, that was the last time he took a look. You could feel the craft scraping the bottom and suddenly the bow fell open and all of the men began a mad rush to the shore. Lt. Moore only took three steps before he was floating in the water surrounded by blood, the Master sergeant made it to the shore but only one of the other sergeant hit dry ground. He saw the medic, Sgt. Carson pulling two men back to the Higgins boat and noticed that others had joined him in getting the wounded into the boat so they could get back to their ship. He never saw the medic again. He found his Master sergeant and stuck as close to him as he could, he fired his rifle but never knew if he hit anything or not. They dug in on the edge of the cliff and waited for crews from the other Higgins boats to join them. Two days later in a hedgerow a mile from the beach he wrote his first letter home telling his family that he was safe, on land, and busy. Fifty years later at the age of 69 he retuned to that beach in France ; with the tears of an old man he thanked God for the safety of that day and the nine months which followed as he journeyed across France into Germany . He remembered Lt. Moore, Medic Carson and so many others that never made it home, he wept, and he prayed. That June day of 1944 had forever changed his life. As he looked across the beach he said, “Thank you Lord for letting me become a man on June 6, 1944 . Thank you for allowing me to be part of something bigger than myself.”

Ivan Today’s Daily Devotion

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