8/19/2009
The Sinking of LST-1006 Off Normandy
June 9, 1944. The Omaha Beach has finally been secured. The bloody D-Day landings have been over for three days.
The LST (Landing Ship, Tank) -1006 had been launched on April 12, 1944. Less than two months old, the vessel was transporting the 3422nd Medium Automotive Maintenance (MAM) Company on a routine crossing of the English Channel to their assigned landing area at Dog Green Beach in Normandy, France. But the mission was not to be routine. In the early hours of June 9, a German U-boat slipped through the screen of protecting destroyers and destroyer escorts. It launched a deadly spread of torpedoes, and the LST was hit.
All the Company’s equipment went down with the ship, but more grievous was the loss of 58 men belonging to the company, as well as another 19 men assigned to the 526th Heavy Ordinance Company.
One of those who was killed was PFC Darius A. Blanton, of Blanket, TX. He was one of the older men in his unit, at 33 years old, and had been in the Army since May 7, 1942. His parents, Jess and May Blanton, received scant information on his loss. In November of 1944, PFC Blanton’s sister, Mrs. Charles D. Shanklin, wrote a bitter letter to the Army, stating “I will appreciate more information regarding what may have happened or what did happen to my brother. We have not received any other information from the War Dept. only “Missing in Action”. No further information was forthcoming. The remains of PFC Blanton were never recovered.
Sadly, the Blanton family was not alone in their confusion in wondering “what may have happened”. Personalized World War 2 Historical Research specializes in locating detailed personal and historical information on those that were lost in World War 2.
Posted: 8/19/2009 2:38:00 PM
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