U.S. Army Capt. Leonard Schroeder, Jr. Was First American to Set Foot on Utah Beach from Landing Craft on D-Day
By Steve Wilson // June 6, 2024
For his actions on D-Day, Capt. Schroeder was awarded the Silver Star
US Army Captain Leonard T. Schroeder, Jr. was the first American to come ashore from a landing craft during D-Day. On June 6, 1944, Schroeder, commanding Company F of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, and leading his men, landed on Utah Beach in France. (Image: JGHowes)
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – U.S. Army Captain Leonard T. Schroeder, Jr., was the first American to come ashore from a landing craft during D-Day. On June 6, 1944, Schroeder, commanding Company F of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, and leading his men, landed on Utah Beach in France.
Also riding with Schroeder on that historic day was Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., son of former president, Theodore Roosevelt.
Schroeder was ill in the days leading up to June 6, 1944, and was visited in an English hospital by Brigadier General Roosevelt. Calling Schroder by his nickname, he reportedly told Schroeder, “Moose, you got to get out of here because I’m riding on your boat. I want you to get me on the beach in your boat when you go ashore.”
D-Day is generally considered the “beginning of the end of World War II,” as it liberated France from the control of Nazi Germany. Approximately 156,000 Allied soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy during D-Day and, within a few days, about 326,000 troops had broached the shore, along with more than 50,000 vehicles and 100,000 tons of equipment.
The story below is one man’s ordeal during D-Day, U.S. Army Captain Leonard T. Schroeder, Jr.
Article by the National World War II Museum – New Orleans:
U.S. Army Captain Leonard T. Schroeder Jr. was the first man down the ramp and straight into waist-deep water at Utah Beach. As he trudged toward the shoreline, his M-1 helmet stayed firmly affixed to his head as he tried to avoid enemy fire.
The first man…a label that frequently demands acclaim and a place in history. For U.S. Army Captain Leonard T. Schroeder Jr., this distinction also brought included danger.
The commanding officer of Infantry Rifle Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, Schroeder led one of the Landing Craft, Vehicle Personnel (LCVPs) approaching Utah Beach on D-Day in the first wave.
U.S. air support was still shelling the beach as the group of 20 LCVPs proceeded through the rocky waters to shore.
Schroeder’s LCVP hit a crater formed by the incessant shelling and the ramp dropped, signaling to the 32 men on board that it was time to make their assault. Schroeder was the first man down the ramp and straight into waist deep water. As he trudged toward the shoreline, holding his weapons aloft, his M-1 helmet stayed firmly affixed to his head as he tried to avoid enemy fire.
Their objective was to break up the German seawall and move inland to capture the town of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. The task of ‘assaulting Utah Beach’ was entrusted to the 4th Infantry Division, comprised of prewar enlistees and officers who had been training for this type of offensive for years.
The assault proved successful, despite landing 2,000 yards away from their intended target. Schroeder, undeterred by a gunshot wound to his left arm, continued the advance, leading his men off the beach and further inland. After suffering a second wound in the same arm, he woke up on a stretcher tagged with a medical recommendation for amputation.
Schroeder quickly destroyed the tag and refused morphine during his evacuation to England, determined to stay awake and plead with the doctors not to amputate. While the doctors saved his arm, the injury prevented Schroeder from returning to his unit. He returned stateside and continued to support the war effort through bond drives.
Throughout the assault, Schroeder’s M-1 helmet, painted with the familiar Ivy Cross of the 4th Infantry and his Captain’s insignia, remained securely in place. The interior helmet liner retains the markings of his WWII insignia, while Schroeder repainted the exterior helmet shell, likely during his stint leading War Bond drives or his subsequent 30 years of military service.
For his actions on D-Day, Schroeder was awarded the Silver Star and recognized as the first American to land on the beaches of Normandy.
Schroeder always said that while he was the first man on the beach from a landing craft, the paratroopers and Seabees already ashore were the true first Americans in France. Additionally, Schroeder always emphasized the heroic service of his fellow soldiers who never made it home.
Following his retirement from the Army as a full colonel in 1971, Schroeder and his wife Margaret moved to Largo, Florida. Schroeder died on May 26, 2009, and is interred at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida, alongside his wife, Margaret, who died on January 8, 2010.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Steve Wilson was born in DeRidder, Louisiana and grew up in both New Orleans and Macon, Georgia. He moved to Brevard County in 1984 and retired from local government as the Community Advocate/Assistant to the City Manager with the City of Rockledge in 2018.
Among the awards and accolades Steve has received over the years are 15 + year Rockledge Little League volunteer, Brevard Public School Jefferson Award Recipient, Rockledge High School Raider Booster Award 2001, 2006, City of Rockledge Employee of the Year 2006, Rockledge Kiwanian of the Year 2006-2007, City of Rockledge Quality Public Service Award 2008, 2012, 2017, Rockledge Kiwanis Citizen of the Year 2012-2013, Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame – Sportscasting 2015, Rockledge High School Leadership and Service Award 2016, Central Florida Humanitarian Award 2017, Space Coast Inspiration Award – 2018, Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame – Lifetime Achievement – 2020, Ecofest Achievement Award – 2022, Quality Floridian Award – 2022, presented by U.S. Congressman Bill Posey.
Wilson is especially proud of his chairing two fundraisers in support of pediatric cancer research through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation in honor of Merritt Island resident Julie Spurlock that raised over $25,000.00.
He has been a partner, along with Orville Susong, for the past 24 years with the Friday Night Locker Room, a broadcasting team that covers and reports on a wide variety of local events that are of significance to the residents of the Space Coast and beyond. Their mission is to promote youth sports, support first responders and law enforcement personnel, and showcase community and charitable events that are produced by our nonprofit partners in central Florida.
The Friday Night Locker Room has awarded hundreds of sports achievement plaques to Brevard County student-athletes over the years. They have also awarded more than $18,000 in academic scholarships to Brevard County high school seniors.
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