Buried in Paper:

The D-Day Documents

Part 2: The Things They Carried

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Introduction

Troops march through an English seaside town to board their ships before D-Day.

Photo from National Archives

Infantrymen who rode the landing craft to the beach carried about 70 pounds in their packs. Those who made it to the beach were often seasick and exhausted after standing for hours in the small boats (the wooden LCVPs had no seats for the soldiers). Some drowned when their landing craft dropped their ramps in deep water.

What was in those packs? Here's a list.