USS CORRY (DD-463)


 

• The USS Corry was the lead destroyer of the Normandy invasion, which began on June 6, 1944 — D-Day — described by author Stephen Ambrose as the climactic battle of World War II.
   

• The USS Corry and the USS Fitch (DD-462) were the first two ships to fire on German-occupied France in the Normandy Invasion.

• Less than one mile from the Normandy shore, the Corry was one of five frontline destroyers that bombarded Utah Beach in support of invading troops on D-Day.

• The Corry was the only U.S. destroyer sunk on D-Day and the U.S. Navy’s only major loss that day.

• Normandy’s flag-raising story: As the Corry was going under, one crewmember rescued her American flag. Because the Corry sank in shallow water near the shore — about 30 feet deep — her main mast and upper bridge remained above the surface of the water. The crewmember with the American flag swam and raised the flag up the mast. Though the Corry had gone down in the fighting, her flag could still be seen by all, proudly waving in the wind.
  
  On the 50th anniversary of the Normandy invasion, in a remembrance ceremony off Utah Beach where the Corry was sunk, President Clinton placed a wreath on the water and described this patriotic flag-raising episode as one of the most stirring tales of D-Day.
  
  Following is an excerpt from President Clinton's speech:
  
  “...But one man stayed aboard. He climbed the stern, removed the flag, and swam and scrambled to the main mast. There, he ran up the flag. And as he swam off, our flag opened into the breeze. In the Corry’s destruction, there was no defeat. Today, the wreckage of that ship lies directly beneath us — an unseen monument to those who helped to win this great war. Thirteen of the Corry’s crew rest there as well, and these waters are forever sanctified by their sacrifice.”
  
  (Spoken June 6, 1994 aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington)
  
  See Corry D-Day photos.

• The tattered D-Day American flag from the Corry was featured on the cover of the June 2002 “Untold Stories of D-Day” issue of National Geographic magazine, which included photos and details about the Corry and her crew during the battle. National Geographic has an estimated monthly worldwide readership of 40 million people.  Poem for the Corry flag.

     photo: K. McKernon

• Off Utah Beach, Corry survivors endured more than two hours in the frigid 54-degree water under constant enemy shelling that caused many casualties. Some died of exposure and drowning. In all, 24 of the Corry's crew were killed and at least 60 were wounded, many seriously. Those who survived the water suffered severe hypothermia.

• The Corry spent many days at sea engaged in anti-submarine warfare during the Battle of the Atlantic. On March 17, 1944, the Corry's depth charges forced the German submarine U-801 to the surface where the sub was fired on and sunk by USS Corry and USS Bronstein (DE-189). This sinking was the result of a two-day pursuit that began with a strafing of U-801 by attack planes from the aircraft carrier USS Block Island, an excellent example of the hunter-killer teams in action against Hitler's U-boats. A total of 47 prisoners were taken from U-801.  See U-boat photos.

• In October 1943, the Corry provided escort support for the aircraft carrier USS Ranger (CV-4) in the highly successful Allied air raid on German-occupied Bodo, Norway. (Operation "Leader").
  
  See Operation "Leader" page for details.

• The Corry led the first landing in the invasion of North Africa in 1942.

• The USS Corry received four battle stars for World War II service.

• The USS Corry never missed an assignment from the time she was commissioned in December 1941 to the day she was sunk — June 6, 1944.