Code 10
The heavy bombardment began sunrise at exactly 6:00 am that morning…
We were told the U.S.S. Alabama was the first to open fire,
followed seconds later by the Missouri.
Men were praying on the ships and in the landing craft approaching the beach. What a day it was, one that would be remembered for sure. Huge shells were in the air, some flying overhead, some landing nearby, and some scoring direct hits on other boats filled with men, men just like him. In all of their weeks of training, absolutely nothing prepared the men for a sight like this.
The sky became blackened by the huge explosions coming from the 14 inch and 16 inch shells leaving with such tremendous force that the giant battleships were actually pushed back by the recoil of the big guns. 
This was some heavy stuff and one could only imagine what it was like on the beaches themselves.
It was difficult to find any real sympathy though, for those on that beach as we all knew what they were doing there and what was about to happen.
So, well, we just put our heads down and kept on praying.
When Synapses Go Bad 