Benhamin H Wirtz

S/Sgt Benhamin Wirtz was killed in action on 06 June 1944, serving with Company D, 2nd Ranger Battalion. On the morning of June 6, 1944, Company D went ashore as part of Force "A" under Lieutenant Colonel Rudder, tasked with scaling the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc. Lowered into their landing craft at 0445, the company suffered a heavy loss when the boat carrying Captain Slater, Lieutenant McBride, and thirty enlisted men sank in rough seas before ever reaching shore. Those who remained landed roughly 35 minutes behind schedule, fighting their way up the cliff face under machine-gun fire, sniper fire, and a steady rain of grenades. By midday, some 20 men had pushed 800 yards east of the Pointe, cut off from the rest of the force, and sent out a patrol that found and destroyed a 155mm gun before later linking up with elements of the battalion to help establish a defensive line along the Vierville-Grandcamp Road. S/Sgt Wirtz was killed in action that day; the report does not specify the individual circumstances.