I was a Lieutenant and the C.O. of the minesweeper USS YMS-378 operating out of Plymouth, England since early May 1944. The first official information about “Operation Overlord”, the code name for the Normandy Invasion, was given to me and 10 other C.O.’s of minesweepers at a meeting aboard a cruiser anchored in Plymouth Harbor on 2 June 1944. At this meeting we were informed the 11 ships had just become Squadron Y of the Assault Force “U” under a Squadron Commander who would ride one of the ships along with his staff.

The mission of Squadron Y was:

1. Sweep and buoy the channel for the amphibious landing craft from a point 10 miles at sea to a point 2 miles offshore starting at 6 hours before “H”.

2. Sweep and buoy the fire support channel for the bombarding ships from the west end of Omaha Beach through the west end of Utah Beach at a distance of about 1 mile offshore.

3. Sweep areas around the Troops Transports.

It was vital that the mission be accomplished thoroughly and on time for the bombarding ships to soften up the shore guns before the troops landed. We were scheduled to start Phase 1 of the mission at 12:30 AM 5 June and complete Phases 1 and 2 by 6:30 AM-which was “H” hour.

On the afternoon of 2 June about 100 infantrymen were place aboard for the night and then were transferred to amphibious craft the next morning.

We were told this was to get as many personnel as possible off the shore and out of communication. Later in the evening a chaplain came on board for a brief time to say Mass and to bless the ship and all on board. Almost all attended the open air service.

The squadron set sail for Normandy late in the evening of 3 June and proceeded slowly along the English coast. The seas were very rough with high winds and waves of 20 feet. We sailed in complete silence - no running lights, no radio transmission, no radar, no sonar. Also, no sleep for anyone as the ship tossed and rolled and the use of the overhead “grab rails” were essential to remaining in one place.

We were off the Isle of Wight in the mid-morning of 4 June and heading directly for Utah Beach 70 miles away when we received orders to return to Plymouth. It would have been almost impossible for us to carry out the mission properly with the seas running so high.

On our return to base — as we approached the antisubmarine nets guarding Plymouth Harbor we received another message, which directed the squadron to turn around and carry out the original mission — only 24 hours later. I had been looking forward to a good night’s sleep for myself and the crew but it was not to be.

It was now about 1 AM on 5 June. The sea and wind was calming and this improving continued throughout the night so that by morning the waves were about 10 feet high — which was tolerable for ships our size.

At 9 PM 5 June we were 40 miles off the French coast when I received a blinker light message from the Squadron Commander directing me to take over the command of the squadron because the electronic navigating equipment on board the ship he was riding was not working properly. Similar equipment on my ship was working perfectly and we always knew our location within 50 yards. However there was a problem in that my ship had only its regular wartime complement of officers and men and not the extra staff for navigating and signaling which was riding on the original command ship.

Minesweepers work in groups or squadrons and sweep abreast or in echelon formation so there will be no gaps in the swept area. Maintaining proper position and speed in the formation requires constant communication between the leading ship and the others and minesweepers have their own radio wavelength for this purpose. But tonight we were under radio silence and all directions concerning type and length of sweep gear, course and speed changes and location of buoy drops and various other instructions had to be passed via blinker light — and we had only 2 signalmen.

I assumed command about 9 PM and 40 miles from the French Coast, moved to the front of the squadron and notified the other 10 ships of the change by blinker. It was dark, lonely and scary out there. There were no other ships in sight. Our only company was the bombers returning from their raids which were flying so low that their vibrations reflected off the ship. The squadron was at battle stations at all times but we had no way to be certain the bombers were friendly. I ordered all ships to hold fire and it turned out to be the right decision. If the bombers had been hostile there probably would have been no swept channels for the landing craft and combatant ships in the Utah Beach area.

Thirty minutes after midnight on 6 June we arrived at the starting point for the first phase of the mission which was to sweep and buoy the assault channel in to 2 miles offshore. The formation was 9 ships abreast and 2 ships dropping buoys. This phase was completed without incident. At 2:30 AM we re-formed in a starboard echelon formation to sweep and buoy the fire support channel (phase 2) for the destroyers which were to follow an hour or so later.

Again we were alone, silent and wondering when we would be discovered and fired at. I had been on the flying bridge for the past 18 hours along with an officer of the deck and the signalmen while communicating with the navigator from below as to location and course changes.

This channel was to be 3/4 mile wide starting at the west end of Omaha Beach and extending about 15 miles along Utah Beach to its very end. Also distinctive lighted buoys with radar reflectors were to be dropped every 1/2 mile on each side of the channel. To accomplish this we had 6 ships sweeping, 2 ships laying buoys and 3 spare ships ready to replace any ship for any reason. As we started the sweep I could see the surf breaking on Utah Beach and I still wondered when the shore guns would open up. A minesweeper is a ship that can eliminate mines that can sink a combatant ship but cannot defend itself against shore guns or hostile combatant ships.

Our course took us between the Isles St. Marcouf - an enemy fortification lying 4 miles offshore and Utah Beach. The island was burning brightly probably from earlier bombings. We sailed by this fortification about 1/2 mile inshore with no problem but with lots of apprehension.

Dawn broke about 5 AM when we were within a few miles of the end of phase 2, and the shore guns opened up. They soon straddled the squadron.

We proceeded out to sea to commence phase 3 of our mission. Communication silence had been ended at day break, when the shore guns had opened up, which enabled us to sweep faster and more efficiently. The remainder of 6 June was spent sweeping the transport areas and we anchored about 9 PM for a much needed rest before our next mission.

During the night of 6-7 June 3 additional minesweepers arrived so now we had 14 ships and the group was divided into 2 squadrons of 7 ships each. I was appointed Squadron Commander of Squadron Y-1 and had 6 of the ships that were with me the previous night. We conducted sweeps in various areas of Omaha and Utah Beaches for some 15 hours each day searching for not only moored mines, but also magnetic and acoustic mines. Squadron Y-1 exploded some 150 mines in the next 6 days.

On 12 June, my 28th birthday, while opening up a merchant ship channel 1 mile off the Cotentin Peninsula we encountered fire from the shore and I ordered all ships to “proceed independently”. The guns concentrated on the USS YMS-378 for some reason and we suffered enough damage, but no casualties, that the Flotilla Commander ordered us back to Plymouth for repairs.

Upon our return to Normandy on 20 June I received orders to take Squadron Y-1 and a squadron of British minesweepers to sweep a channel from the Bay of the Seine to Cherbourg. Two destroyers would follow us as escorts. After some 15 miles we encountered shore fire which forced us to run to sea. The destroyers finally silenced the guns with one of them suffering severe damage. The 2 squadrons of minesweepers returned to anchorage but early the next morning returned to sweep to Cherbourg with 2 different destroyers as escorts.

On 30 July Squadron Y-1 was sweeping a new channel for merchant ships in the Utah Beach area near St. Vaast. We were sweeping for magnetic and acoustic mines. USS YMS-378 and USS YMS-304 were sweeping in tandem. About 9 AM a mine exploded under YMS-304 and 2 others exploded close by YMS- 78. YMS-304 started sinking immediately, and was gone within 5 minutes. YMS-378 lost all electrical power and one main engine and was taking on water. With the one remaining engine and manual steering we were able to rescue many of the crew of our sister ship. Other ships came alongside and took off the rescued personnel and put their gasolinedriven “handybillies” on board which enabled us to keep USS YMS-378 afloat long enough for us to run it aground on the beach. Repair crews arrived within the hour to patch the leaks, which principally were the sea chests which had been blown out, and the ship was refloated on the next high tide.

The Flotilla Commander decided Squadron Y-1 could use a few days R+R so the remaining 5 operating ships left for the Plymouth Navy Yard immediately with the USS YMS-378 under tow of 2 other minesweepers. The going was slow since the towed ship was drawing 9 feet of water — 3 feet more than usual — but fortunately the seas were calm and we arrived at Plymouth on 3 August with the ship still floating.

The hull and all engine room equipment was “surveyed” (declared worthless) but all equipment on the main deck and above, especially the electronic equipment, was saved for replacement on other ships. I was flown back within the week to report to the Navy Department Washington for further assignment.

I was the C.O. of the USS YMS-378 at its commissioning at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in September 1943 and at its de-commissioning at Plymouth Navy Yard in September 1944. It was a good ship manned by officers and men who were able to take on the additional duties and responsibilities of Commanding the Squadron which led the invasion of Normandy, six hours before “H” hour on 6 June 1944. We did nothing heroic — just successfully carried out a dangerous task.

I was awarded the Bronze Star medal with Combat “V” for my efforts.

Joseph J. Guidrey, Capt. USNR
1 June 1994