SGT David C. Powers was born on February 19th 1918 in Lebanon, Russell County, Virginia. To his parents Dan A. born in 1878 to his death in 1953 and Rose Lettie Farmer born in 1889 to her death in 1964. David was one of four children all born and raised in Virginia. He attended Lebanon High school for one year and worked as a chuffer.

SGT David C. Powers enlisted in the US Army on May 7th 1941 in Roanoke, Virginia. He was given the service number 33047806 and eventually joined the 29th Infantry Division, 116th Infantry Regiment Company D.

The 116th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the Virginia Army National Guard. - The regiment was formed as part of the Virginia Militia. It is one of several National Guard units with colonial roots. Units in its lineage included the Confederate Stonewall Brigade of the Army of Northern Virginia. It was formed under the designation of the 116th during World War I, when previously existing Virginia National Guard units were consolidated in federal service. It fought in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive with the 29th Infantry Division and returned to the United States in 1919, where it

was demobilized. It was reformed in 1922 and called back into federal service before the American entry into World War II in March 1941. It fought in the Normandy landings, on Omaha Beach, where it suffered heavy casualties. It served continuously with the 29th Infantry Division in its eastward advance until reaching the Elbe at the end of World War II in Europe.

The regiment was to lead the assault on Omaha Beach to the west of 1st Division's 16th Infantry, and would be temporarily attached to 1st Division. H-Hour, the beginning of the invasion, was scheduled for dawn on 5 June (D-Day, the first day of the assault). Companies A, E, F, and G were to be in the first wave of the assault on Omaha Beach. The beach was divided into sectors: Company A, the westernmost, was to land at Dog Green, Company G at Dog White, Company F at Dog Red, and Company E at Easy Green on the right of 16th Infantry. It was planned that by 09:30 on D-Day, the beach exits would be open and vehicles able to leave the beach. 1st Battalion was to take Vierville, link up with the Ranger assault group advancing east along the coastal highway, and advance on Vire. Meanwhile, 2nd Battalion would capture Saint-Laurent and the heights southwest of it. 3rd Battalion constituted the reserve, and was tasked with advancing to Longueville.

At 03:10 on 6 June (the invasion had been postponed for 24 hours due to inclement weather), Companies F and G began climbing into their LCVPs. All first wave landing craft had left the ships by 04:30. At 05:00, a naval and aerial bombardment commenced pounding the German defenses, but the aerial bombardment was ineffective and the naval bombardment failed to destroy most of the German gun emplacements, manned by the 352nd Infantry Division. The landing craft approached Vierville at 06:00, and at 06:36 the ramps of Company A's five surviving boats out of seven were dropped after reaching the assigned sector. There were no shell holes for cover at Dog Green, and within seven minutes Company A was virtually wiped out by either the heavy German fire or from drowning in the surf – by the end of the day, only 18 of 230 members of the company had avoided becoming casualties.

SGT David C. Powers was killed in action on June 6th 1944 in Normandy. For his valent efforts he was awarded the Purple Heart. David Powers in buried at Normandy American Cemetery.

Resources:

SGT David Crocket Powers (1918-1944) - Find A Grave Memorial

David Crocket Powers : Sergeant from Virginia, World War II Casualty (honorstates.org)

Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Young American Patriots, 1941-1945 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.

Original data: National Archives and Records Administration. Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946 [Archival Database]; ARC: 1263923. World War II Army Enlistment Records; Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 64; National Archives at College Park. College Park, Maryland, U.S.A.

Ancestry.com. U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.

The National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for Virginia, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 587

Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

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David C Powers