JimD Posted June 21, 2014 Author Share #26 Posted June 21, 2014 I have an update on this unusual Purple Heart for those who might be interested. To recap, Coxswain Just was aboard LCT-713 when that vessel, with 7 other LCTs, ground ashore on Omaha Beach to deliver thirty two DD Sherman tanks of the 743rd Tank Battalion. The LCTs beached about 5 minutes before the First Wave of 1st and 29th Division soldiers landed and were truly the first Allied forces to land on Omaha Beach. LCT-713 took fire from a German artillery piece before retracting from the beach. Coxswain Just is officially listed as having been KIA on 8 June 1944, two days later. Based on my prior research I became convinced he was actually KIA on 6 June when his LCT took artillery fire on the beach and the prior posts on this thread outlined my circumstantial argument. After a few years of researching the issue I finally found concrete evidence to support my belief that, at a minimum, Coxswain Just died as a result of his service on D-Day. Captain Lorenzo Sabin was skipper of a gunfire support ship, the LCH-520. Below is a snippet from his after-action report. It is date June 6, 1944. Further research has established that after Coxswain Just was taken aboard the LCH-520, he was later transferred to LCI(L)-88. That ship then transferred him the USS Dorothea Dix at about 8:55 AM. The Dix eventually returned to port in Weymouth England at about 5:00 AM on 7 June. The Dorothea Dix took on a total of 58 casualties on 6 June of which only 5 were Navy casualties. Of these, 4 were stretcher cases and one was deceased when taken aboard. I still have some work to do to establish exactly when Coxswain Just died but I suspect it was sometime after he was taken aboard LCH-520 and before he was transferred to the Dorothea Dix. I do not think he lingered for two days before passing on the 8th of June because if he did he would have died in the custody of medical staff and he would have been listed as Died of Wounds (DOW), not Killed in Action (KIA). Additionally he certainly would not have been mentioned in the 10 June 1944 dated casualty memorandum that I have located as having been “killed in action on a date not given in dispatches”. The actual date of death is, of course, academic. What is certain now is that Coxswain Just made the ultimate sacrifice from wounds that he received in the first minutes of combat on Omaha Beach. He is truly one of the very first casualties of Bloody Omaha Beach and the historical record should reflect that fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted June 21, 2014 Share #27 Posted June 21, 2014 Great detective work Jim, it is nice to see all the effort pay off for you. Very nice Purple Heart as well, thank you for sharing. RIP Coxswain Just Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted June 21, 2014 Share #28 Posted June 21, 2014 Great job researching this Jim. His story can now be told, Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobgee Posted June 21, 2014 Share #29 Posted June 21, 2014 Great research! RIP Seaman Just. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decwriter Posted June 21, 2014 Share #30 Posted June 21, 2014 Awesome job on the research Jim! Your persistence paid off. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWalsh Posted June 21, 2014 Share #31 Posted June 21, 2014 Glad you could find those important details Jim. Just curious, what turned you on to the AAR's from the LCH?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerialbridge Posted June 21, 2014 Share #32 Posted June 21, 2014 A Just Cause. Your tenacity in working to reconstruct his story is commendable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarbridge Posted June 22, 2014 Share #33 Posted June 22, 2014 Jim you have left no stone un-turned on this one..A fine job at researching this D-Day Sailor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted June 22, 2014 Author Share #34 Posted June 22, 2014 Glad you could find those important details Jim. Just curious, what turned you on to the AAR's from the LCH?? I'd like to pretend I am a savvy researcher. I am not. They just turned up on a Fold3 search I was doing. I cannot ever recall the search terms I was using but I lucked out in that Just happened to be transferred to the LCH skippered by the commander of the gunfire support group (Lorenzo Sabin) and he kept a copious and detailed AAR for his vessel. Pure luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhcoleterracina Posted June 22, 2014 Share #35 Posted June 22, 2014 Good work, never give up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieony Posted June 24, 2014 Share #36 Posted June 24, 2014 Excellent detective work! Thanks for posting! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted October 20, 2015 Author Share #37 Posted October 20, 2015 I hate to keep bringing back this thread but will do so one more time and beg the Forum’s indulgence. To recap, Coxswain Howard Edwin Just was a member of USS LCT-713 which landed DD tanks directly on Omaha Beach prior to the first wave of invasion troops on 6 June 1944. LCT-713 took several direct artillery hits and was towed back to England for repairs. Coxswain Just was later listed as KIA on June 8, 1944 but it has always been my belief that he died from wounds received on the beach on June 6, making him one of the first Omaha Beach casualties of the invasion. After a few years of research I found some after- action deck logs indicating on the morning of June 6 he was transferred as critically wounded from LCT-713, to LCH-520, to LCI(L)-88 and finally to the USS Dorothea Dix, all before 8:30 AM. That is where we left off. The unanswered question remained whether he actually died on D-day or died of his wounds on June 8. With the help of Geoff at Golden Arrow we finally have our answer. At my request Geoff was able to locate the following deck log entry for the USS Dorothea Dix which described the activity aboard the Dix from 08:00 to 12:00 on June 6, 1944 off Omaha Beach. Specifically, the log lists the sailors and soldiers transferred from LCI(L)-88 to the Dorothea Dix at 08:30. My next task is to get the U.S. Navy to correct the date of death, a task which might make the last five years of research seem like a walk in the park. Thanks for indulging a fellow collector on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarbridge Posted October 20, 2015 Share #38 Posted October 20, 2015 Congratulations on solving a cold case...let me find you another quest to begin... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wharfmaster Posted October 20, 2015 Share #39 Posted October 20, 2015 Well done indeed, congrats. We remember his sacrifice. Do keep us updated. Wharf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete-o MSU Posted October 21, 2015 Share #40 Posted October 21, 2015 Nice work Jim! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerialbridge Posted October 21, 2015 Share #41 Posted October 21, 2015 "Perstare et Praestare" I respect your relentless quest to confirm your hunch. Hopefully after you give them your clear evidence, the Navy bureaucracy will quickly set the record straight that this man was one of the early fallen on D-Day, not dying of wounds two days later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schofield1943 Posted October 21, 2015 Share #42 Posted October 21, 2015 In my limited experience dealing with the ABMC they seem to be much less willing when the evidence is more circumstantial. This is not the case regarding S1c Just, clearly, after extensive research. Leaving the bureaucracy aside (which I realize is impossible in reality)...this seems like a fairly cut and dry case, especially with that Dorothea Dix log. Really awesome work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan H. Posted October 21, 2015 Share #43 Posted October 21, 2015 I really enjoyed reading this thread and seeing the lengths that you have gone to in order to chronicle this sailor's life and death. I would agree with the others that you have offered compelling evidence that Just's death occurred in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, rather than June 8th. As an aside, when I looked Just up at "Find A Grave" there is an image of a form that was filled out when his body was repatriated back to Rhode Island that lists his death as June 9th! I would encourage you that when you petition the ABMC to change the date, that you do so stating that it is your desire to establish Howard Just as the first native of Rhode Island to fall on D-Day. You might find a RI Congressman to support your cause. You would be AMAZED at just how much clout a senator or congressman's name has when dealing with bureaucracy. Once you get the date changed. You can request that the VA supply Just's grave with a new headstone with the corrected date. Good luck! Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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