D-Day + 50 -- A Drill Became A Disaster In England

TORCROSS, England - The sea still coughs up things here on the beach they call Slapton Sands - live shells, gas caps from Army vehicles, coins, and, every now and then, a signet ring.

Ken Small calls it "militaria," this flotsam of Exercise Tiger, a doomed and hushed-up military drill 50 years ago in which 749 American troops were killed as they trained for the D-Day invasion of France.

Small runs a bed-and-breakfast inn on a high bank overlooking the watery battleground and has been beachcombing for such stuff for years. But his obsession is the Sherman tank he dredged out of 60 feet of water in 1984 to create a memorial to the troops who died in the bungled exercise.

The tank has wrecked his life, Small will tell you, destroyed his marriage - his wife named the tank as co-respondent in the divorce proceedings - and his health. But he'll add with intensity and great sorrow, "I did it for those kids who died, and to give their families piece of mind."

This year, many of the families of the dead and the survivors of Exercise Tiger will visit Torcross in southwest England to see the tank. They'll be part of a larger invasion of hundreds of thousands of visitors to England and France to celebrate the 50th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion that turned the tide against the Germans in World War II.

Those who do come here to the South Hams area of Devon will be captivated by the scenery - Small calls it "gob-stopping."

These beaches were chosen for the D-Day training because they resemble Utah Beach, one of the two beaches in the Normandy region of France where the American forces invaded.

In this English countryside, towns and villages nestle into the cleavage of the hillsides that roll up from the sea. The roads linking them are so narrow in spots that when two cars meet, one has to back up to a turn-around. In places the hedgerows run right along with the roadways, creating a well-trimmed and shady tunnel.

When the weather's quiet, the water of the English Channel laps gently against the beaches, which are made up of a reddish shale the locals call shingles. Winter storms wash away the shingles and lay down a new set of militaria for beachcombers like Small.

A former policeman and hairdresser, Small, 63, has been running the Cove House inn since 1969, when he came here on holiday and never really left. His former wife, Ann, still lives in the village and helps out.

The local expert

Small's obsession has made him the local expert on Exercise Tiger. Every day, after he's cooked a hearty English breakfast for his guests, he leaves the house and goes down to the tank memorial on the beach to sign copies of his book and tell the story to tourists who come by the busload to see him.

The first American troops hit the beaches of England in 1942 to train. By D-Day there were 1.5 million, and the south coast of England had been turned into a vast training camp.

In November, 1943, the 3,000 people who lived in Torcross and the neighboring villages along the beaches of Start Bay were told they'd have to evacuate the area for a year. They weren't told why or what was to happen to their homes.

The people were given until Christmas to find a place to stay, close up their shops, sell off their livestock and pack their belongings. Many of the elderly villagers had never been anywhere else. Three committed suicide rather than leave, Small says.

The U.S. Army, 30,000 strong, moved in, making itself at home in tent cities in the farmers' fields.

Soldiers took target practice - sometimes in people's houses - learned to throw hand grenades and drive amphibious tanks. Sailors practiced maneuvering huge flat-bottomed troop carriers onto the beach. The British and American navies moored their warships offshore and lobbed shells inland.

"It was all very real," Small says. "It was a war within a war."

Germans attack

On April 28, 1944, the convoys, fully loaded and ready for dress rehearsal, moved into Start Bay for Exercise Tiger. Suddenly, about 2 a.m., everything began to go wrong.

The troops were awakened by the sounds of metal striking metal, by shrieking alarms and shouting men, by fire and explosions. They'd been caught in a sneak attack by German E-boats ("E" for enemy), small, fast vessels that could strike in the night and be back in the occupied port of Cherbourg before daybreak.

In the confusion, the British, whose battleships were supposed to provide cover, turned back to port; in the darkness, some of the Americans fired on their own ships.

Bodies littered beach

Witnesses on shore said the beaches were littered with the bodies of soldiers the next day. Many of the young troops drowned because they didn't know how to wear the life vests they'd been given. Many were burned beyond identification.

Their families were told they were missing in action in Europe. After a year, their names were listed as killed in action. No details were given.

The survivors limped back to shore that early morning and were told, "Nothing happened out there last night." The injured were taken to doctors who were told, "Ask no questions; take no histories." If Tiger were mentioned to anyone, ever, the survivors were told, they could be court-martialed.

So they put Tiger into the back of their minds and went on to D-Day.

The American government put up a monument here to the people who evacuated during the training. But there was no monument or memorial to the dead of Exercise Tiger until Ken Small became obsessed with the story and the 32-ton sunken tank that was fouling up the local fishermen's lines.

Now the veterans who survived Exercise Tiger are beginning to speak of the incident, and historians are beginning to record what happened here.

"Sometimes one of the family members will come here and find me and find out for the first time their loved one was killed here," Small says.

"It's just heartbreaking. But now at last they know. And these kids have a memorial, finally."

IF YOU GO

Getting there - You can drive southwest from London to Dartmouth, taking a small river ferry to the South Hams area of Devon. But the easiest, and maybe most enjoyable, way to get there is by train from London to Totnes, about three hours. A taxi will take you the last 12 miles to Torcross.

Staying there - Cove House has 12 guest rooms, including some with private showers. It's open from mid-February through the end of November. Rooms run 17 and 18 pounds (about $27 to $30) per person per night, and breakfast is included.

For reservations, write Ken Small, Torcross, Nr. Kingsbridge, South Devon, England, TQ7 2TH. Phone (548) 580448.