Ben Shelton

Pfc Ben Shelton was killed in action on 06 June 1944, serving with 30th Chemical decontamination Company. On 6 June 1944, elements of the company attached to the 37th Engineer Combat Battalion went ashore on Easy Red and Easy Green beaches roughly an hour after the initial assault waves, landing under heavy artillery, mortar, machine-gun, and small-arms fire. Rather than performing their planned decontamination role, the men found themselves fighting as infantry, carrying rifles, carbines, bazookas, and grenades alongside the troops who had shared their landing craft, while also using their smoke grenades to screen portions of the beach. Once that fire subsided, they reorganized into salvage and rescue teams, gathering ammunition and mine detectors, probing for mines with bayonets, and helping collect and evacuate the wounded to medical clearing stations. Damaged smoke generators brought ashore that day were later repaired and put into use that same afternoon. Pfc Shelton was killed in action that day; the report does not specify the individual circumstances.