Latest news with #DeVita
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Coasties Braved Withering German Fire to Put Troops Ashore on D-Day
Coast Guard Gunner's Mate Frank DeVita crawled over the bodies of the dead who lay in the blood and puke covering the deck of the Higgins boat on Omaha Beach to save the landing craft during the first wave of D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. DeVita's main job as part of the landing craft's crew was to raise and lower the front ramp on orders of the coxswain, or boat driver, to allow more than 30 troops from the 1st Infantry Division, the "Big Red One," to storm ashore, but the German MG-42 machine guns took their toll. In oral histories and in a Coast Guard interview, DeVita, of Brooklyn, New York, spoke of the numbing fear that the boat crews had to overcome on D-Day, the beginning of the Allied invasion of France that became a turning point in the war against Nazi Germany during World War II. Friday marks the 81st anniversary of the massive military operation. Read Next: Air Force Special Operations Command Names New Enlisted Leader as Predecessor Faces Investigation As soon as DeVita lowered the boat's ramp, "about 15 or 16 GIs died immediately" from the German fire, he said. "The first guy who got hit -- ripped his stomach open. Another guy two feet away was hit in the head, took his helmet off." Now, the coxswain was screaming at him to get the ramp back up to allow the boat to back off the beach, but the ramp was stuck. "I didn't know what to do. The ramp was in the front and I'm in the back. I can't see it from where I am because of the dead and wounded in front of me. I had to crawl over them to get to the ramp. And while I'm crawling, I'm crying. I'm saying to these kids, 'I'm sorry, please excuse me. I have no other alternative,'" DeVita said. "When I got closer, I realized that two dead soldiers were on the ramp, holding it down. They never got off the boat. I tried lifting them up, but I couldn't. I weighed 125 pounds. Another guy came to help and, inch by inch, we pulled them into the boat," he said. DeVita then tried to comfort one of the wounded. "He was crying 'help me, help me,' but I had nothing in my kit to help him." He started reciting the Lord's Prayer but never finished. "I knew he was gonna die," DeVita said. "I wanted him to know that he was not alone, and I reached down and touched his hand. And he died; he died." His boat returned to the beach 14 more times to deliver troops and supplies after the initial landing in the first-wave assault. DeVita also noted that on trips to the attack transport USS Samuel Chase his boat had brought back a total of 308 bodies of U.S. troops who had been killed in action. The role played by DeVita and the other Coast Guard personnel who crewed the Higgins boats was critical to the success of the D-Day landings in gaining a foothold in France to begin the liberation of Europe from the Nazis. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme Allied commander, often paid tribute to the Coasties and the Higgins boats by referring to Andrew Jackson Higgins, the New Orleans industrialist and designer of the Higgins boats, as "the man who won the war for us." The expertise of the Higgins crews was such that many of the Coasties, including DeVita, were transferred to the Pacific after the Nazi surrender and participated in the landings on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Coast Guardsmen manned 99 warships and large landing vessels for Operation Neptune, the naval component of D-Day involving more than 6,900 ships and landing craft, including about 1,500 Higgins boats, according to a piece on the Coast Guard website titled "The U.S. Coast Guard at Normandy." A total of 18 Coast Guardsmen were killed and 38 were wounded in the course of the fighting on D-Day. The flat-bottom Higgins boat itself was slightly more than 36 feet in length with a beam of just under 11 feet and was powered by a 225-horsepower Gray Marine 6-71 diesel engine at a maximum speed of 12 knots in calm seas. The sides and rear of the landing craft were made of plywood and offered little protection against enemy fire. The vulnerability of the Higgins boats was not lost on Harold Schultze, who was the coxswain of a boat operating off the transport USS Bayfield on D-Day with the task of putting troops ashore on Utah Beach. "The German fire was extremely heavy," Schultze told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in 2019. "As the driver, I would try to get to the beach and the bullets were hitting all around you, the ramp and everywhere. It was hard watching those young men drop off into the water. They had over 50-pound backpacks and were trying to hold their rifles over their heads all while being under heavy fire. Often, they couldn't get their footing, and many of them drowned before even getting to the beach. These were some of the bravest men I have ever seen." The hardest part of his repeated trips to the beach on D-Day, Schultze said, was removing "the dog tags off of the dead soldiers floating in the water. That got to me. You eventually became numb to the sights and had to carry on, but you could never forget." Related: What Ike Remembered When Returning to the Beaches of Normandy 20 Years After D-Day
Press and Journal
21-04-2025
- Sport
- Press and Journal
Ross County cult hero: Raffaele De Vita on enduring emotions of watching 2016 League Cup glory from bench
Raffaele De Vita was on the bench for Ross County's first ever national trophy triumph in 2016 – but the Italian entertainer bears no grudges. The silky winger admits his form just dipped at the wrong time, and manager Jim McIntyre named his as a substitute as County defeated Hibs 2-1 at Hampden – with Alex Schalke's last-gasp goal being the history-maker. Michael Gardyne had fired the Staggies in front before Liam Fontaine drew Hibs level just before the break in the 2016 League Cup showpiece. With the final heading for extra-time, Schalke popped up with the famous, unforgettable, winner. It was a remarkable victory for County, who beat Celtic 3-1 in the semi-final – another tie De Vita watched from the dugout as an unused substitute. De Vita – who scored five goals in 39 appearances for County after signing in January 2015 – was thrilled for his team-mates and supporters as the club, but said: 'The League Cup win gives me mixed emotions. 'Honestly, I was buzzing for the town and the supporters because I can't even imagine what it means to such a small community to win a national trophy. 'Not anyone in the planet deserved it more than them – they way the fans follow their team up and down the country, whether in the Championship or Premiership, to go on and win the League Cup is an incredible story. 'But not being involved in the final left a bitter taste. If you are a player, you want to be part of that. 'I can never have the same emotions as Alex Schalk, who scored the winner in the last minute. 'But, overall, for the club I was delighted. Ross County were not a team to always get the headlines. 'To play at Hampden where it was almost all green and white from the Hibs fans, with County having just a little section of supporters, it really was like David against Goliath. It was unbelievable. 'I was happy for the fans and for the players. Although that season was difficult for me, the group of players the manager put together were brilliant. 'There were just genuine, honest guys that wanted to do well. There were no big heads or primadonnas in the team. They really, really deserved it.' De Vita feels no ill-will towards McIntyre for not selecting him, adding: 'I have no hard feelings against the manager. I didn't feel I was in good form at all during that period. '(And) for the (semi-final win) against Celtic, and the final against Hibs, the way the manager set up the team meant the wingers had to pay the price. 'And, if I remember right, Michael Gardyne had to play wing-back. 'He's a little machine. He just runs everywhere for 90 minutes – it's maybe something that I couldn't do. It's a really difficult role to adapt in a wing-back position. 'But the club and the players were amazing to go on and win the trophy against Hibs. 'Those were incredible memories.' Ex-Blackburn youth player De Vita, who arrived in England as a teenager from Rome in 2004, joined County after leaving Cheltenham in 2015. De Vita, who also played for Bradford City and Livingston, revealed how he could quite easily have become a player for Ross County's relegation rivals St Mirren that winter. The Buddies – who ended up bottom of the league come May – ran the rule over the Italian, but indecision and a lucky link led him to Dingwall instead. He said: 'My move to Ross County almost happened by accident and that actually happens quite often in football. 'I was on trial with St Mirren, whose manager Gary Teale wanted to have a look at me, as well as several other players. 'Like County, they were struggling a bit at that time, but they were taking their time and changing a lot of players, assessing the options. 'But I was in a rush to sign somewhere and start playing football again. I was getting frustrated that St Mirren were taking their time. 'At that time, my agent had another player, Marcus Fraser, who was at Ross County, having just signed from Celtic. 'My agent then spoke to Jim McIntyre, who agreed to have a look at me. We drove up from Glasgow. 'I didn't really think I did particularly well in those two or three training sessions, but Jim McIntyre told me he wanted to sign me. 'I didn't think twice. I didn't look at figures or anything – I just wanted to sign. 'There was a good feeling about the changing room and the place. It was all very quick and not planned at all, but worked out well in the end.' Red tape ruled De Vita out from making his debut away to Aberdeen. Installed in the side following a Pittodrie rout, County kicked away from the danger-zone to finish ninth that season. He said: 'Signing for Ross County was, for me, a brilliant experience, yet I never thought it would run out the way it did. 'When I signed, it was a difficult time, I think, for the team at that particular time. 'The club was healthy, and in the SPL, so everyone obviously was very enthusiastic about it. But the league position wasn't good. 'Everyone thought we were destined to get relegated to the Championship. 'I was coming to County from a club in England where things weren't going well, so I needed a break. 'Ross County proved to be perfect for me. I joined at the end of January in the last few days of the transfer window. 'The team were just about to play Aberdeen. And, in football, there are moments where if things go one way, it can change everything. 'And the lucky thing for me was actually that that weekend, I wasn't registered in time to play in the team, but the manager kept me on the bench because he didn't know whether the papers were through. 'We ended up getting thumped 4-0 by a really good Aberdeen side and it meant the following week the manager made five or six changes for the match against Motherwell. 'Had I played against Aberdeen, I could have been one of those who lost their place in the team.' De Vita scored on his Staggies bow, saying: 'It meant I made my debut against Motherwell, and I scored in a 3-2 win. It was the perfect debut for me and the team. 'From that point, the manager found that his team was really settled for the next few months. There were maybe one or two changes here and there, but we were a team he was happy with and could rely on. 'We went on that long run where we didn't lose many games. And, eventually, we stayed up with a few games to go, which was unbelievable. 'Ross County are a club that I really admire for the way they do things. And they manage to always keep their heads and see the positive aspects of a season, even when things are not going well. They are very different in that respect.' The pros far outweighed the cons for De Vita in the north of Scotland and, more than a decade on, he retains such fond memories of a club with a 'family feeling'. He said: 'I loved it, honestly. Not just, obviously, when things are going well, it's easy to say that you love your time at a place, but everything about it. 'I think I only realise now how lucky I am to not only play for Ross County, but also to have lived in the Highlands – it's a place where maybe people from the Highlands don't realise how much people from different countries are fascinated by the area. 'It's a difficult place to live for a long time because of the weather – I'm not used to it. 'However, as a place to visit and spent time for a few weeks there are not many better places in the world. 'On top of that, it was so good to play in the SPL at such good stadiums with some great atmospheres. I remain really grateful for that. 'At the time you maybe don't enjoy it as much because there is the pressure to win games and not get relegated. All the games seemed to pass really quickly. 'You don't stop to think about looking back, but being at Ross County was one of the best experiences that football gave me.' De Vita, 37, is still pulling on the boots, playing for fifth-tier Italian club Anagni, an hour from Rome. But he revealed he's developing a new career in the classroom, too. He explained: 'Surprisingly, I still play and it's semi-pro. It is not like it is in Scotland where, in part-time football, you might train twice a week in League One or League Two – here, in Italy, you still train every afternoon at 3pm, so you really only have the morning to do other things, but you still have to life your life as a professional. 'Because I am older now, I started to think about other things and, I don't know how, but I am now teaching English as a second language. 'It's just something that I wanted to do. I wanted to make good use of what the UK gave me. 'It's the language I started with no knowledge of – I could barely ask a question in English and I've kind of managed to learn a new language.' 'I'm kind of still battling with that transition from football to something else. But teaching gives me something else to think about and not be too scared of the future because it's a tough period when you stop playing football and you realise that you don't know anything else. 'We have middle school here between elementary school and high school. We prepare the kids for Cambridge exams, which they need for then high school and university. 'So, it's like extra courses that the school offers to the students. 'English is not like back in the day – you need English for everything. 'I will see whether football coaching also becomes part of my life. I think I would like to give it a go, but at the moment I'm still enjoying playing. 'I'll see how long my legs can keep going – I don't think I've got a lot longer, but I'll try my best.'
