BAND OF BROTHERS

BAND OF BROTHERS

notebook

PERSONAL HISTORY

Four more alums were awarded the Purple Heart for their deeds in Normandy 75 years ago.

FIRST CLASS SEAMAN FLETCHER P. BURTON JR. ’45

U.S. Coast Guard

“Fletch” Burton hit Omaha Beach early—in the second wave of attackers. He manned the pilothouse of landing craft 94, controlling its throttle. Artillery shells burst around his unwieldy vessel as it surged forward, dodging obstacles before it plowed into the sand. After its troops plunged ashore, the 94 struggled to free itself. At the same time, famed war photographer Robert Capa waded out, requesting permission to come aboard. At that moment at least one artillery shell found the landing craft. Shock from the blast killed Burton. Capa’s picture of Burton’s injured crewmates appeared in Life magazine. Burton had left Dartmouth during his sophomore year to enlist. He previously made combat landings in North Africa, Sicily, and Salerno, Italy. As one of the first to die on D-Day, his name appears on the “First Fallen” plaque at the Pentagon that honors the first 30 men who were killed that day. He was 21.

SECOND LT. EDWARD TITUS JENKINS III ’37

U.S. Army

“Anything, Anytime, Anywhere—Bar—Nothing.” That was the motto of Jenkins’ outfit, the 39th Infantry Regiment, the Fighting Falcons. He enlisted in January 1941, rose to second lieutenant, and became an anti-tank officer. After landing on Utah Beach on June 10, Jenkins headed north to liberate Cherbourg, a major deep-water port near the tip of France’s Cotentin Peninsula. Then his regiment pivoted south to attack Saint-Lo, a fortified town at a strategic crossroads. Jenkins, 28, died on July 11 near Carentan, 18 miles north of the city. A native of Queens, New York, he was on the swim team and went to Tuck his senior year. Jenkins was also awarded a Bronze Star and a Divisional Citation.

STAFF SGT. JAMES AMBROSE O’HEARN JR. ’41

U.S. Army

O’Hearn had a great sense of humor. “The Army took me in tow in May 1942,” he wrote his class secretary in April 1944, “and before the leaves fell that year I was given a free ocean trip over here to England.” He joked in his letter that he earned his European Theater of Operations ribbon for courageously confronting Spam in the mess hall. A staff sergeant in an anti-tank unit, O’Hearn dodged machine gun fire when he landed on the unsecured Omaha Beach the day after D-Day. His unit immediately marched inland. When it attacked the next night, the Germans counterattacked with artillery. He died in the barrage. O’Hearn, 24, was engaged to be married and was from South Orange, New Jersey.

PFC. JAMES ROBERT WHITCOMB ’38

U.S. Army

In early 1941, Whitcomb saw the war coming and wanted to serve as a pilot. But the Army wouldn’t let him fly because he wore glasses. Whitcomb landed on Omaha Beach 30 days after D-Day. His regiment took heavy casualties as it fought in thick hedgerows on the way to Saint-Lo. He never saw the city, dying in afirefight on July 28. Whitcomb, 27, called Portland, Maine, home and was on the swim team. He left behind a wife and a son.