David F Spencer Killed Near Utah Beach, Normany
SN 2850961

David Franklin Spencer was born November 18, 1923 in Cleveland, Ohio to parents Oliver and Mae (Walker) Spencer. David was the oldest son in a large family of four girls and five boys. His father, Oliver, worked as a structural iron worker and his mother was a homemaker. David and his siblings grew up in the picturesque town of Bay Village on the south shore of Lake Erie.

David attended Bay Village High School and was a member of the class of 1942. When he registered for the draft on June 27, 1942, Spencer listed his employer as Cleveland Phneumatic Tool E 78th St, Cleveland, Ohio. He was 5’5 1/2” tall and weighed 130 pounds with hazel eyes and brown hair.

He was enlisted into the US Naval Reserves on December 29, 1942 at the Naval Receiving Station in Cleveland, Ohio.

On August 16, 1943, Spencer was received on board the USS Tide (AM-125), an Auk-class minesweeper. He boarded the ship from the New York City receiving station. Spencer’s rank was Motor Machinist’s Mate Second Class. His job would include being responsible for operating and maintaining ship propulsion machinery, auxiliary equipment and outside machinery.

On January 25, 1944, the USS Tide, with MMOM Spencer on board, would embark on their longest convoy escort assignment. Departing Charleston, she sailed via Bermuda and the Azores for the United Kingdom. In April–May, the USS Tide escorted convoys in British coastal waters and engaged in exercises with minesweepers from the Royal Navy in preparation for the invasion of Europe also known as D-Day.

The USS Tide swept channels off the Normandy beaches for fire-support ships and continued sweeps the next day, "D-Day".On the night of June 5-6, it operated in the English Channel to protect the convoys heading for Normandy, then on D-Day, Tide worked off Utah Beach. During the night of 6–7 June, she joined other vessels in guarding the Carentan Estuary to prevent the entry and exit of enemy German E-boats.

On the morning of 7 June 1944, USS Tide swept the area inshore and between Îles Saint-Marcouf and Barfleur, France for mines to clear lanes for fire-support ships. At 09:40, while recovering her gear, Tide struck a mine which exploded with such force that she was lifted 5 feet out of the water, according to witnesses.

The explosion blasted a tremendous hole in the USS Tide’s bottom, and tore away all bulkheads below the waterline, causing immediate and irreversible flooding. Tide's commanding officer — Lt. Cdr. Allard B. Heyward died soon after the initial explosion, as did 21 other courageous sailors, including MMOM1/C David F Spencer.

Spencer and the men who perished in the sinking of the USS Tide will forever be on patrol with their ship off Utah Beach, Normandy, France. MMOM1/C Spencer will be remembered for his courage and sacrifice in the face of danger while liberating Europe. His bravery and dedication to our country will never be forgotten.

MMOM1/C David F Spencer is memorialized in two locations. His named is on the Tablets of the Missing at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, located in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. The second is a memorial marker located in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, located in Section:ME Grave:110.

Spencer was survived by his parents, Oliver and May Spencer, brothers, Daniel, Edward, and James Spencer, and sisters, Harriet, Mary, Sylvia and Janet Spencer.