Here is the Chapter on DDay in the Memoir of a White House Dog.
hapter 25
General Patton, Operation Fortitude and D-day - March 15, 1943
During the invasion of Sicily, General Patton was visiting a field hospital.
He noticed a soldier who was not physically injured sitting on a bed. The
General asked the doctor what was wrong with him. The attending doctor
said he suffered from battle fatigue. The General became enraged and
started screaming and cursing in the hospital. Patton did not believe battle
fatigue existed. He felt the soldier was a coward and proceeded to slap
him.
I was in the Oval Office with the President when we found out
about this incident. The Boss was very upset about this. He called General
Eisenhower and for a meeting to discuss this matter. The President told
Eisenhower to order Patton to apologize to the soldier and all he served.
Congress was very upset. When word hit the newspapers about this
incident, pressure mounted to remove General Patton. Just another
situation on top of many others that aggravated Franklin.
We knew firing Patton was not such a great idea for the war. He
knew he was a fierce warrior and would be needed for later engagements.
Eisenhower also knew the Nazis admired Patton. With the upcoming
invasion of occupied France, he intended to put himself to good use.
Discussions were taking place in the Oval Office on proceeding
with the invasion. The allied command decided the area that would be the
epicenter of the invasion would be Normandy. They wanted to fool Hitler
into believing the attack would be at the Pas de Calais. The Pas de Calais
was the shortest distance from Great Britain’s mainland to the coast of
France, which perfect sense. But how could they fool Hitler?Barbara Guerriero-Flites
114
The first thing the Allies did was send out faulty intelligence to
Germany. Two double agents named Mutt and Jeff relayed incorrect
messages that the United States sent troops to Scotland. I thought the
names were quite comical.
Then another divisive plan was to invade Norway. Soon afterward,
Germany sent troops to Norway. Then they fabricated radio
transmissions about how to use tanks in extreme cold. We tried our best
to confuse Hitler and his Generals so their troops would set up far away
from Normandy.
All along the European seaboard, the Germans had fortifications
called the Atlantic Wall. If the Allies could spread out the German forces,
they would have less power at any one spot. The name of this operation
would be called Operation Fortitude.
In a conference with General Marshall, the President decided to put
Patton to good use. These discussions lasted through the night.
The President jokingly said, “If anyone could pull this off, it would
be George!
General Patton was called to pull off one of the greatest deceptions
in military history. Patton was ordered to create a dummy army. German
spy planes were flying over Southwest England and saw a massive build-
up of tanks and landing craft. German intelligence showed the invasion
point would be at the Pas De Calais. The Germans saw tanks, but little
did they know they were inflatable. Fake landing craft, airfields, and decoy
lighting were also used. The allies also had dummy paratroopers for their
false invasion. They would also use tin foil to obstruct enemy radar.
It was brilliant, and it worked. Hitler’s generals all told him that
Normandy would be the invasion point. It was the weakest part of France,
and it was an ideal place to land.
Hitler would not listen and sent troops to Pas de Calais.
Meanwhile, back in Washington, the allies were preparing for the
most significant invasion in world history. Operation Overlord consisted
of 1200 warships, 400 land craft, and 160,000 allied troops. The
uncertainty in the White House if the attack would happenThe Memoir of a White House Dog
115
The weather was not cooperating with the Allies. Every time the
Generals thought the attack should be launched, the weather would
deteriorate, and the invasion would be called off.
According to the army meteorologists, on June 6, 1944, there would
be a small window of better weather. General Eisenhower read the report
and gave the order to proceed.
Normandy coastline was a 50-mile stretch. The allies landed on
Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches. We sat in the White
House; no one spoke a word. We knew many men would be killed in this
action. Everyone was silent as Franklin prepared his speech. Finally, word
came in the first wave had landed. We were happy yet sad at the
same time. Soon it became time for the President to give a speech to
inform the American people about the invasion. The address was in the
form of a prayer. He asked for God’s blessing for the troops and to give
them strength. He said that some of our boys might not make it. He asked
God to embrace them and welcome them into his kingdom. The
President asked God to give us faith. Operation Overlord was a
significant turning point in the war in favor of the Allies. Operation
Overload would be a success!116
