Sinking of USS Corry   Survivors' D-Day Accounts   Utah Beach Maps/Reports/Targets    D-Day Battle Reports    Corry Flag Poem
Invasion Overview    Eisenhower Invasion Order   Corry painting 1   Corry painting 2   Corry Leads Invasion

THE NORMANDY INVASION

USS Corry (DD-463)
Sunk June 6, 1944 — D-Day
Utah Beach, Normandy, France
 

World War II - Until June 6, 1944, Adolf Hitler had conquered most of Europe, maintaining his tyrannical grip, ever seeking to fortify himself in his quest for world domination. The invasion of the European continent at Normandy was the largest naval invasion in history with more than 5,000 vessels leaving southern England, headed for the coast of France. 

After leading the massive Allied invasion force across the English Channel, in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, off Utah Beach the destroyer USS Corry engaged in fierce combat with German artillery firing from the Normandy shore. A prime target at the front of the invasion force, the Corry drew sustained shelling for more than an hour while successfully evading major damage. Getting as close as 1,000 yards from the beach, she fired several hundred rounds of 5-inch ammunition at numerous Nazi targets. 

As H-Hour neared (0630), when troops would begin fighting their way onto the beaches, two Allied planes began generating smoke screens between the shore batteries and bombarding warships to conceal the ships from enemy fire. While other frontline destroyers and rear vessels were receiving smoke cover, the plane assigned to lay smoke for the Corry suddenly got shot down, leaving the Corry fully exposed to German gunners who were now firing at her in full fury. With its four 5-inch guns, the Corry moved in very close, attempting to eliminate the Saint Marcouf/Crisbecq battery, which was the heaviest artillery battery on the shore, fortified with three 8.25-inch guns that fired massive 300-pound projectiles. After a heated duel with the battery that lasted several minutes, enemy salvos began landing very close to the Corry, erupting towering plumes of water all around her. 

At just about H-Hour, while seeking to evade the intense fire from the Saint Marcouf battery and other batteries, the Corry suffered direct heavy-caliber artillery hits in her engineering spaces amidships below the water level. The jarring explosion jolted the ship, causing men to be thrown violently from their positions. Steam hissed and roared profusely from behind the bridge. With her rudder jammed the Corry went around in a circle before all steam was lost. Still under heavy fire, she began sinking rapidly with her keel broken and a foot-wide crack across her main deck amidships. 

After the order to abandon ship, crewmembers fought to survive in rough, bone-chilling 54-degree water for more than two hours as they awaited rescue while under constant enemy fire from German shore gunners. One crewmember raised the American flag up the sinking Corry's main mast, which remained above the surface of the shallow 30-foot deep water when the ship settled on the bottom. The ship blast along with other casualties suffered out in the water from shelling, drowning, and exposure resulted in 24 crewmen giving their lives and 60 being wounded. For USS Corry survivors, the morning of June 6, 1944 was one harrowing experience they'd never forget.

USS Corry (DD-463)       

 

Below is the speech by President Clinton at the 50th anniversary of D-Day. This speech was given aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington above the spot where the Corry was sunk off Utah Beach. 

One of the most stirring tales of D-Day is that to which the Secretary of the Navy has already referred—the tale of the USS Corry. Ripped...while blasting enemy positions on Utah Beach, the Corry began to go under. But one man stayed aboard. He climbed the stern, removed the flag, and swam and scrambled to the main mast. There, he ran up the flag. And as he swam off, our flag opened into the breeze. In the Corry’s destruction, there was no defeat. Today, the wreckage of that ship lies directly beneath us—an unseen monument to those who helped to win this great war. Thirteen of the Corry’s crew rest there as well, and these waters are forever sanctified by their sacrifice.

The CORRY and its crew, two dozen of whom were lost at the Normandy landing on D-Day, is an inspirational story of the sacrifices of few to protect many. The story of raising the flag on the sunken CORRY is a testament to the courage and commitment of the Greatest Generation in their devoted service to our Nation and freedom.  [USS CORRY] shipmates set the standard for courage and devotion.

Heavy Front-Line D-Day Action
Utah Beach, Normandy - June 6, 1944

While bombarding enemy targets, the USS Corry maneuvered in
as close as 1,000 yards from the shore.
 

USS Corry hit amidships at approximately
06:30 (H-Hour) on D-Day - June 6, 1944

[National Archives film footage shot from PT-507]

At left, USS Corry sinking, broken in a "V", with smoke screen chemicals spewing from her stern. A German shell hit the smoke generator. A second destroyer passes to the rear, as a rescue whaleboat approaches from lower right.

[Still image from D-Day newsreel - NARA ref #: 111 ADC 01319]

USS Corry sinking off Utah Beach June 6, 1944

[photo from the collection of George K. S. Hardy, USS Fitch (DD-462)]

     CLICK HERE TO READ USS FITCH 
     CREW MEMBERS' FIRST-HAND D-DAY ACCOUNTS

John F. Kennedy

(1988 photo) Lt. Bill Liebenow, Commanding Officer, PT-199

ON D-DAY, PT-199 WAS COMMANDED BY LT. WILLIAM LIEBENOW, WHO A YEAR EARLIER HAD RESCUED THEN NAVY LIEUTENANT JOHN F. KENNEDY IN THE PACIFIC AFTER KENNEDY'S PT-109 WAS CUT IN HALF BY A JAPANESE DESTROYER. 

CLICK HERE TO READ PT-199 CREW MEMBERS' FIRST-HAND D-DAY ACCOUNTS, INCLUDING COMMANDING OFFICER'S.