In the early hours of June 6th, 1944 the largest invasion force in history took to the sea and skies to begin the liberation of Europe from domination by Nazi Germany. According to The D-Day Encyclopedia by Barrett Tillman, the invasion of Normandy consisted of 5,333 Allied ships and landing craft embarking nearly 175,000 men. The British and Canadians landed 75,215 and the Americans 57,500, for a total of 132,715, of whom about 3,400 were killed or missing. These men became heroes for their determination in the face of ferocious enemy resistance and unparalleled bravery against difficult odds. All were issued the essential materials for war. Included among the munitions, supplies, and rations were cigarettes. This section features nineteen compelling comments on the significance of cigarettes on D-Day, as cited in books by five historians.

“In the first couple of days in June, the AEF (Allied Expeditionary Force) began to load up and form up and move out for the journey across the channel. The men left behind their duffel bags taking with them only what they could carry–mainly weapons and ammunition, gas masks, photos of their loved ones, and a change of clothing (they were issued their cartons of cigarettes and C and K rations [food] when they boarded).”

D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of the Second World War
by Stephen E. Ambrose, 1994

“The cigarettes were handed out at the quays, along with rations. Pvt. Robert Patterson of the 474th Antiaircraft Battalion told the quartermaster to never mind the cigarettes because ‘I don’t smoke.’

“’You might as well take them,’ the quartermaster replied, ‘because by the time you get where you’re going you will.’ Forty years later Patterson commented, ‘He was right. On that ship I learned to smoke and did so for a lot of years thereafter.’”

D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of the Second World War
by Stephen E. Ambrose, 1994

“There was some humor to being the flame thrower. While waiting to be loaded onto the ships at dockside, I would often light a cigarette with it. I, of course, knew all the safety factors. I could, without triggering the propelling mechanism, light a cigarette by simply producing a small flame at the mouth of the gun. In doing so, it produced the same hissing sound as when the thrower was actually being fired. When my team would hear the terrifying sound, I would immediately be the only one left on the dock.” [Harry Parley]

Voices of D-Day The Story of the Allied Invasion Told by Those Who Were There
by Ronald J. Drez, 1994

“One soldier in the 4th Division was addicted to Camels. He went into a panic over the thought of running out, so he bought, borrowed, or traded for every pack he could. He went on board carrying ten cartons. Most men carried two cartons and depended on the Army to get more up to them when needed.”

D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of the Second World War
by Stephen E. Ambrose, 1994

“I had all this stuff packed in a bag that looked like a barracks bag that was tied to a rope about 20 feet long and tied to the bottom of my harness.

“In all it weighed around 110 to 150 pounds. In it were three boxes of machine gun ammo (each box had 250 rounds in it), six hand grenades, my backpack or small bag–it had all my toilet equipment in it and change of underwear, thirty-fine packs of cigarettes, one hundred sticks of chewing gum that my mother had sent me, and twelve candy bars.” [William Oatman, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment]

Voices of D-Day The Story of the Allied Invasion Told by Those Who Were There
by Ronald J. Drez, 1994

“Lt. Ralph De Weese finally got out, found a couple of his men, and started down a road. He saw two Frenchmen and asked if they had seen any other Americans. They couldn’t understand him. He pointed to the American flag on his sleeve. One of the Frenchmen nodded happily, pulled out a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes, and pointed down the road. ‘I was one happy fellow to see those Luckies.’

“Two months later Back in England, De Weese wrote his mother to describe his D-Day experiences. He told her the worst part was he had no dry cigarettes himself but felt he couldn’t relive the Frenchman of those Luckies. He added that his pockets were full of little fish.”

D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of the Second World War
by Stephen E. Ambrose, 1994

“We flew clear of the coast and the crew chief and radio operator pulled in the static lines. a cigarette at this time was soothing. I replayed in my mind the four minutes from when we entered the cloudbank until we were clear of the DZ, over and over, all the way home.” [Joseph Harkiewicz]

Voices of D-Day The Story of the Allied Invasion Told by Those Who Were There
by Ronald J. Drez, 1994

“It seemed like eternity before we were able to get above the treetop level. There was no talking. I had a certain amount of tenseness but I know it was not fear. Instead I was apprehensive at what lay ahead. I did say a prayer, asking God to let me do the job for I had been trained, and not to let my buddies down. We had been briefed, no lights or smoking, but I had a momentary lapse and lit a cigarette. Parks yelled instantly, ‘Put that goddam cigarette out!’ Someone else then said, ‘Do we really have to go?’ That brought some real and some fake laughs and the tension eased.”

June 6, 1944: The Voices of D-Day
by Gerald Astor, 1994

“Sgt. John Robert Slaughter made his way toward shore. ‘There were dead men floating in the water and there were live men acting dead, letting the tide take them in.’ Most of Company D was in the water a full hour, working forward. Once he reached shore, for Slaughter ‘Getting across the beach to the shingle became an obsession.’ He made it. ‘The first thing I did was to take off my assault jacket and spread my raincoat so I could clean my rifle. It was then I saw bullet holes in my raincoat. I lit my first cigarette they were wrapped in plastic. I had to rest and compose myself because I became weak in my knees.'”

D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of the Second World War
by Stephen E. Ambrose, 1994

“The bullets were coming directly at me, and in an obviously futile, but normal, gesture I spread my legs wide and grab with both hands my groin, as if to protect myself. Those machine-gun bullets traced up the inside of one leg, missed my groin, trace down inside of the other leg splitting my pants on the insides of both legs, and drop both free Red Cross cartoons of Pall Mall cigarettes to the soil of France.” [Frank Brumbaugh]

Voices of D-Day The Story of the Allied Invasion Told by Those Who Were There
by Ronald J. Drez, 1994

“They could see that they were going to be dropped in waist-deep water, so they began to lighten up their packs. The first thing that went, Sgt. Richard Cassidy of the 237th ECB remembered, were cartons of cigarettes. He had six–one man carried ten cartons. Cassidy tore open a carton, grabbed a pack out of it and threw all the rest away. So did others. ‘We were wading in cigarettes up to our knees in that boat.'”

D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of the Second World War
by Stephen E. Ambrose, 1994

“Pvt. Charles Thomas worked his way over to the left, where ‘I ran into a bunch of my buddies from the company. Most of them didn’t even have a rifle. Some bummed cigarettes off of me because I had three cartons wrapped in wax paper.’ Thomas was at the base of the Bluff…In his opinion, ‘the Germans could have swept us away with brooms if they knew how few we were and what condition we were in.'”

D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of the Second World War
by Stephen E. Ambrose, 1994

“Blood was squirting out both sides and he was in horrible pain. we called for a medic. Jones was saying, ‘Let me die! Let me die!’ Sgt. Roland Fecteau, who was nearby, immediately stuck two fingers in the lieutenant’s neck and plugged the holes. When the medic came he shot Jones up with morphine. The spinal cord hadn’t been severed, and the wound was directly behind it. As Lt. Jones was loaded on a stretcher, he was smoking a cigarette and said, ‘I’ll see you boys in Wollington Park [the 508th’s home base in England].’”

June 6, 1944: The Voices of D-Day
by Gerald Astor, 1994

“Looking around, all I could see was a scene of havoc and destruction. Abandoned vehicles and tanks, equipment strung all over the beach, medics attending the wounded, chaplains seeking the dead. Suddenly I had a craving for a cigarette. ‘Has anybody got a smoke?’ I asked.”

D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of the Second World War
by Stephen E. Ambrose, 1994

“I saw a wounded Canadian with most of his face blown away, and a padre was trying to comfort him, and the chap wanted a cigarette, but there was nowhere to put it…it wrings you seeing things like that and not being able to help.” [Lieutenant Ian Hammerton, 1st Troop ‘B’ Squadron 22nd Dragoons]

D-Day Those Who Were There
by Juliet Gardiner, 1994

“The next morning Pvt. Robert Healey of the 149th combat engineers and a friend decided to go down the bluff to retrieve their packs. Healey had run out of cigarettes, but he had a carton in a waterproof bag in his pack.

“’When we walked down to the beach, it was just an unbelievable sight. There was debris everywhere, and all kinds of equipment washing back and forth in the tide. Anything you could think of seemed to be there. We came across a tennis racket, a guitar, assault jackets, packs, gas masks, everything. We found half a jar of olives which we ate with great relish. We found my pack but unfortunately the cigarettes were no longer there.’”

D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of the Second World War
by Stephen E. Ambrose, 1994

“The residents of Vierville were, of course, terrified. Pierre and Fernand Piprel decided to flee to the south. On the way, they saw some soldiers crouching behind a hedgerow. Pierre Piprel said it was ‘hard to tell who they were since we did not know the Allied uniform. Arriving close, I asked them, English? and they answered, No, Americans. Seeing their packs of Lucky Strikes, we knew we were safe. They let us go on.'”

D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of the Second World War
by Stephen E. Ambrose, 1994

“Eisenhower had other reasons for ‘pre-D-day jitters’.  Although outwardly relaxed, with his famous open smile for everyone whatever their rank, he was smoking up to four packs of Camel cigarettes a day. He would light up a cigarette, leave it smouldering in an ashtray, jump up, walk around and light another. His nerves were not helped by constant pots of coffee.”

D-Day: The Battle for Normandy
by Antony Beevor, 2009

“Planners had scheduled 2,400 tons of supplies to reach Omaha Beach during D-Day, but only 100 tons got ashore. A large proportion of what did arrive was destroyed on the beach; precious little of it got up to the plateau. Troops on top had to fight with what they carried up the bluff on their backs. They ran dangerously low on the three items that were critical to them-ammunition, rations, and cigarettes.”

D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of the Second World War
by Stephen E. Ambrose, 1994