According to Glen McClain, "I was very fortunate, I call it a miracle." He survived, but to this day carries internal scars such as the image of a shipmate who lost a lower jaw and half of his tongue who tried to speak to him.McClain also remembers a soldier calling for help but he couldn't reach him without drowning himself.
They were in the 14th wave going into the beach on June 6, 1944, and didn't expect much in the way of problems. They were taking artillery in as well as a truck and its crew when they hit a mine designed to sink a battleship.
Mr. McClain was a seaman first class and had enlisted at age 17 and came to Waterloo after the war. His battle station was a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun on his LCT (Landing Craft Tank).
His ship had just passed the bow of the battleship USS Texas which was firing shells at the beach. They were passing overhead.
--GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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