I stared at the soldiers around me. The foul stench of damp clothes reached my nostrils and made me gag. This was not the place I imagined myself being in when I practiced! No-one here was smiling or sharing a quick joke, it was just…hellish! Nothing would make anyone smile, not on a dreadful day like this. If you think you can make someone smile on such a tragic day such as D-Day, you are wrong. I gazed over at the other ships; I could only just hear their thrumming engines over the waves. Waves crashed over the front of the boat I was in, spraying us in the faces and making our eyes sting. The cramped boat suddenly gave a lurch causing us to be flung to one side, “RAMPS DOWN IN THIRTY SECONDS!” cried our commander.

Heart in my mouth, I counted down the seconds. Twenty now… Machine guns fire ceaselessly…fifteen seconds…I tighten my grip on my gun…ten seconds…God save me…5…4…3…2…here goes nothing…1… the ramp opens creaking with the rust that had gathered on it. Machine guns fire at us immediately and screaming and shouting fill the air as bullets pierce my comrades’ skin! Thinking fast, I grab a dead body to shield myself from the deadly gun fire, I held my gun firmly, and waded through the water. The coldness of water shocked my body causing me to freeze. I was even more worried about getting shot than I ever was, I had made it out of the boat but sooner or later my life will surely be ended by a bullet. Teeth chattering together, I waded through the blood stained water. I held my gun out the water while keeping a firm grip on the body.  I kicked my legs out and pushed myself to land. Spikes covered the beach, stopping any of our ships getting through. Helmets that belonged to lost soldiers were cruelly scattered across the sand! I gulped and ran to the nearest spike, (they call them Hedgehogs) and was hoping to take cover. My comrades followed me, keen to get shelter. The machine guns shot after my feet causing me to stumble…I suddenly felt something that I had never felt before, a strange tingling feeling. I looked down at my legs, where there used to be fully functional legs, were rags and skin. I desperately dragged myself along the beach, each moment causing as much pain as it had caused when they were shot. I look behind me; a Nazi is taking his aim! I pull the safety catch on my gun and shoot. It hits him spraying blood everywhere! I start to crawl again but I get slower and slower. I reach out a hand for my comrade to pull. I’ve… almost…made…it! Phew I’m sa-