Skipper on Landing Craft during Barge Duty

Heroes Remember

Skipper on Landing Craft during Barge Duty

Transcript

I had what they called a personnel landing craft and they could carry between 30 and 40 troops depending on what armourment what they had and they carried everything from rifles to machine guns, to bicycles, you name it. And the landing craft the small personnel landing craft I’m talking about only had a crew of four. You had a port and a starboard ramp man or look man, look out whatever you want to call him, a coxen to steer and a skipper, in my case that was me. Usually with these small barges, the landing, there was about six of them, for what we called the mother ship or the troop ship. They kept going back and forth to the beach cause you couldn’t get close into the beach early in the war because of all the obstacles in the water. Halfway through the third day, we were just, we just unloaded the barge and we were going to raise the ramp up and a shell hit the starboard corner of the barge and flipped it over and it killed the starboard ramp man, the port ramp man was flung free and myself and the coxen ended up underneath the barge. Now somebody must have fished us out but I woke up three days later in hospital in Portsmouth. I didn’t have any flak wounds, just a concussion. The thing that bothered me most about barge duty was that it was a one-way trip and some of these young fellows that were, when you picked them up from the ship they were scared as hell when they got in the barge and when you got in with them you had to let them off in about waist deep water and they were as scared as hell but they had to get off. And if they didn’t get off, you pushed them off. I didn’t have to do it but those fellows up front had to or their own people had to. It was kind of sad. And a lot of them never made it to the beach. So I feel very fortunate that I’m still here. Because remember I was only 18 when I joined up and I was 23 when I was discharged. I lived more in five years than most people live if they’re 105.

Description

Mr. Nordlund speaks about his responsibility as skipper during barge duty on the landing craft and the injury he received while unloading the barge.

Hough Nordlund

Mr. Hough Nordlund was born July 17, 1922 in Kamsack, Saskatchewan. After his elementary school years, his family moved to Ponachi, Saskatchewan where he graduated from high school. Then Mr. Nordlund joined the Navy and trained on the HMCS Queen Regina. After initial training he was drafted to the ship, Prince Henry, doing offshore and inshore service around Vancouver Island. His main role aboard these ships was radio operator, receiving messages through morse code. During his service time in the navy, Mr. Nordlund sailed on other ships, the HMCS Kootenay and Alberni. Mr. Nordlund was an active soldier during the D-Day invasion and occupied the role of skipper onboard the landing craft LC3 taking troops to Omaha Beach. Mr. Nordlund finished his service onboard the HMCS Kootenay and had a few runs to the Murmansk before leaving the navy. After discharge Mr. Nordlund served with the militia and worked with the Federal Government in the Fisheries and Oceans Department, retiring with 38 years service.

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