Harold Baumgarten | 1925-2016
B Company
116th Infantry Regiment
29th Infantry Division
It took 44 years for Harold Baumgarten to be able to share his harrowing experience of the landings on Omaha Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944. Indeed, it wasn’t until 1988 that he first agreed to speak about his painful past during World War II.
Harold “Hal” Baumgarten was only 19 years old in 1944. This American soldier from New York belonged to Company B of the 116th Infantry Regiment (29th Infantry Division), which was scheduled to land shortly after the first assault wave at Omaha Beach, in the “Charlie” beach sector. When he first touched French soil, he was shoulder-deep in water and faced particularly heavy German fire, which killed many soldiers around him. His platoon leader, 1st Lieutenant Harold Donaldson, was killed before he could even leave the landing craft. An enemy bullet lodged in his rifle, rendering him inoperable. But his rifle saved his life.
Shortly after, while he was on dry land, a shell fragment tore off part of his cheek, causing profuse bleeding. But adrenaline gave him the courage to take shelter behind a natural pebble wall, and he was treated by a medic. His ordeal didn’t end there, for a short time later, while helping another wounded soldier, he was hit in the head again by shrapnel. Around him, mortar shells struck, causing random deaths.
During the afternoon, Harold Baumgarten waited in a “nest of the wounded,” precariously sheltered by the pebble dike formed by the tides. He watched as a group of soldiers stormed the plateau overlooking the beach and decided to follow them to fight, despite his injuries. He had no difficulty finding a new weapon: those of the dead littered the shore. The infantrymen headed west toward Pointe du Hoc and sought to bypass the German defenses. While crossing the coastal road connecting Vierville-sur-Mer to Grandcamp-les-Bains, an enemy bullet hit him in the foot: Hal treated his wound with the few means at his disposal and continued walking to avoid finding himself alone.
In the evening, as the light faded, a German burst of fire ripped through the group of American soldiers. Harold was wounded for the fourth time that day, once again in the face. This time, he thought his time had come and collapsed in a ditch. Left for dead, he administered a morphine injection to ease the pain. He gradually lost his senses until the next day, June 7, when an American patrol came to his rescue. Evacuated to the beach and placed in transit to England, he was wounded a fifth time by a German sniper’s bullet, hitting him in the knee: Omaha Beach was still not completely secure.
Despite this succession of ordeals, which unfortunately was not an isolated case on D-Day at Omaha Beach, Harold Baumgarten managed to reach England and remained there for several weeks to receive treatment and undergo extensive rehabilitation. His face underwent extensive surgery to repair the wounds inflicted by the war as best he could.
Back in the United States, Harold devoted himself to education, working as a teacher and then as an assistant coach for the Palm Beach High School football team. He also became a physician, specializing in family medicine and the development of surgical devices and equipment. Harold Baumgarten also chose to work for the memory of his brothers in arms who fell in Normandy and throughout World War II, traveling to France several times to participate in commemorations and hosting several historical programs and veterans’ meetings. He wrote his memoirs in the book “D-Day Survivor,” which he enjoyed signing and sending to anyone interested in his story around the world.
He passed away on December 25, 2016.
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