Military Career: 279 Port Battalion
Mission
Pfc. Pedro RodónLater on in life, Pedro Rodón decided to answer the United States plea for aid by participating in the war effort. In order to do this, Pedro enlisted in the militia in April 9th, 1943. Once enlisted in the armed forces, Pedro was assigned to be a member of the 279th Company of the 505th Port Battalion. This Company was eventually reassigned to the 519th Port Battalion in May 1944. However, it was assigned back to the 505th Battalion in November of the same year- thus Pedro was designated to the 505th Battalion on his gravesite. It was in this battalion that he worked to fulfill his role as a longshoreman. The history pertaining to the longshore soldiers participation in D-Day commenced on June 2nd when the 519th Port Battalion left the marshalling area and arrived at Newport, Wales. The battalion was divided among numerous waiting Liberty Ships, freighters, and coasters and remained anchored until late in the evening of June 5. The men had no idea where they were headed to. It was only till their journey to France that the men were officially informed of their destination and that they, the 519th Battalion, would be invading an area code named “Utah Beach” in Normandy. The responsibility of the 519th was to transport supplies onto the beach after it had been secured by the Allied forces. They were not expected to land on the beach until the following day, once the German resistance was cleared. For example, roads and fields were thoroughly mined by Germans and needed to be cleared from the entire Utah Beach region. The living conditions of these longshoremen and other soldiers were extremely difficult. Seven weeks after their arrival, the port companies moved supplies under continuous threat from Germans.There were many raids that took place as they were working on the beach. By the end of July, these raids subsided. Battalion casualties occurred mostly during the first weeks after the landings. At the end of a day’s work, the men came home to their foxholes. These foxholes were several feet deep and were wide enough to hold two men. Sleeping in these foxholes provided protection although they were utterly uncomfortable. They spent sleepless nights not knowing if they were going to see the light of the day. Regardless of the working conditions, they were able to transport essential supplies swiftly through the use of the two mulberries (artificial ports), one in Omaha Beach and the other in Arromanches at Gold Beach. From June to November, 726,014 tons of supplies landed in Utah Beach. The 519th worked in Utah Beach for approximately five months and moved on to Antwerp as soon as the port was ready to use. The 279th Port Company was released from the 519th in November and reassigned to the port at Le Havre with the 505th. As a longshoreman, Private First Class Rodón represented the heart and soul of the engineer special brigades. Pedro Rodón held the task of unloading supplies and equipment needed for the fighting men. His job was crucial in the war effort, for the soldiers could not fight without weapons, ammunition, and other supplies. One of the many reasons the Allied forces were successful was due to the countless Port Battalion men in the Normandy campaign. Pedro and his role in the militia proved to be essential in achieving success against the threat of Nazi Germany. Pedro died a year after the D-Day landings, on September 29, 1945. Months after the Germans surrendered, leading to the end of World War II in 1945, Pedro was killed as he stepped accidentally on a land mine at Le Havre beach. The war had finally come to an end, however Pedro and his family were unable to enjoy life after the war, for even though the war had come to a conclusion, his loved ones were unable to escape the fact that they had ultimately lost him forever.
The Mulberries
Mulberry A artificial harbor used by the 505th Port BattalionThe date for the American’s covert invasion drew exceedingly close. The success of the June 1944 invasion relied on the effectiveness of supplying troops and managing the enormous amount of men that had already landed upon French territory before the Germans amassed the force needed to reduce the bridgehead. Modern warfare required huge quantities of supplies. German units could operate on smaller quantities, but American, British, and Canadian units required an enormous amount. The need to secure a port through which supplies in large quantities could be funneled was a critical objective in this large-scale landing. The Germans fully understood the necessity the Allies had for securing ports and thus the major ports were heavily fortified. This proved to hinder Allies from seizing the ports. The Allies, however, had a plan of their own- a secret project codenamed- Mulberry. Allied planners hoped that Mulberry would supply the Normandy bridgehead until a deepwater port could be secured and repaired. Seemingly instantaneous, troops worked to erect the Mulberry Harbor. The Mulberry Harbor was a “civil engineering project of immense size and complexity”. This floating waterfront was designed to provide artificial port facilities during the Allied invasion of Normandy. Therefore, the structure served as a portable temporary harbor to facilitate rapid unloading of cargo onto the beaches and replace diverse ports. As troops advanced upon the beach’s shore, the unloading process was ultimately eased and hastened.
The task of manufacturing the mulberries, however, fell upon the British forces. In a period of less than 9 months the job was done and the mulberries were assembled. Moreover, in order to construct such structure, immense quantities of raw materials and a great deal of laboring men were required. By June 9, just three days after D-Day, two artificial harbors towed across the English Channel and assembled off the coast of Normandy. One, known as Mulberry A, the American Mulberry, was constructed at Omaha Beach while the other, Mulberry B, the British Mulberry (nicknamed ‘Port Winston’ after Winston Churchill), was constructed off Arromanches at Gold Beach.
When both were fully operational, they smoothly moved approximately 7,000 tons of daily goods. Each of the two was made up of about 6 miles of flexible steel roadways that floated on either steel or concrete pontoons. The material requirements for both Mulberry A and B were huge. These consisted of a rough calculation of 144,000 tons of concrete, 85,000 tons of ballast, and 105,000 tons of steel. Both harbors were finally able to be utilized and were successfully launched with the use of tug boats. The Mulberries comprised floating roadways and pier heads which rose and fell with the tide. In an attempt to avoid rough seas, huge hollow concrete blocks and old hulks were sunk to form breakwaters, these were the gooseberries which served as protection from the sea’s vast force. Just two weeks after D-Day, a massive storm on June 19th wreaked havoc on the Mulberry sites. By June 22nd, the harbor serving the Americans at Omaha, Mulberry A, had been completely destroyed. Although Mulberry B also sustained some damage it survived the tempest. Overall, during the period of time it operated, the harbor landed an astounding amount of 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles and 4 million tons of goods. It is due to its distinguished success that the Mulberry Harbor became broadly acknowledged as “one of the greatest engineering feats of World War II”.
The task of manufacturing the mulberries, however, fell upon the British forces. In a period of less than 9 months the job was done and the mulberries were assembled. Moreover, in order to construct such structure, immense quantities of raw materials and a great deal of laboring men were required. By June 9, just three days after D-Day, two artificial harbors towed across the English Channel and assembled off the coast of Normandy. One, known as Mulberry A, the American Mulberry, was constructed at Omaha Beach while the other, Mulberry B, the British Mulberry (nicknamed ‘Port Winston’ after Winston Churchill), was constructed off Arromanches at Gold Beach.
When both were fully operational, they smoothly moved approximately 7,000 tons of daily goods. Each of the two was made up of about 6 miles of flexible steel roadways that floated on either steel or concrete pontoons. The material requirements for both Mulberry A and B were huge. These consisted of a rough calculation of 144,000 tons of concrete, 85,000 tons of ballast, and 105,000 tons of steel. Both harbors were finally able to be utilized and were successfully launched with the use of tug boats. The Mulberries comprised floating roadways and pier heads which rose and fell with the tide. In an attempt to avoid rough seas, huge hollow concrete blocks and old hulks were sunk to form breakwaters, these were the gooseberries which served as protection from the sea’s vast force. Just two weeks after D-Day, a massive storm on June 19th wreaked havoc on the Mulberry sites. By June 22nd, the harbor serving the Americans at Omaha, Mulberry A, had been completely destroyed. Although Mulberry B also sustained some damage it survived the tempest. Overall, during the period of time it operated, the harbor landed an astounding amount of 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles and 4 million tons of goods. It is due to its distinguished success that the Mulberry Harbor became broadly acknowledged as “one of the greatest engineering feats of World War II”.