The horror remains with Andy even after 70 years

The horror remains with Andy even after 70 years

11 June 2014

TEARS well in the eyes of 90 year-old Andy Andrews as he recalls the horror of the D-Day landings. The Royal Navy veteran, who was onboard HMS Pink off the Nazi-occupied Normandy coast 70 years ago, takes time to regain his composure, before painting a chilling and vivid picture of the unimaginable horrors of war.

Sitting in his New Line home outside Killinchy, Mr. Andrews recalls bodies floating in the bloodstained water, hundreds of soldiers within his immediate view shot dead by German snipers before they had even made landfall.

“It was truly horrific,” he said, stopping briefly for a moment as the horror of seeing friends and comrades gunned down that fateful day on June 6, 1944, comes flooding back.

Last week, television channels were flooded with documentaries commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings.

Mr. Andrews, who is the President of the Killyleagh and Killinchy Royal British Legion branch, said he tried to watch many of the programmes, but admits he struggled.

“I had to turn away; I couldn’t watch. I started to cry as it brought it all back. I lost a lot of good friends. It was horrific then and it’s still horrific now,” he said. “I saw one veteran a year younger than me crying as he recalled during an interview what happened. That’s what war does to you.

“What I witnessed will never leave me. I was one of the lucky ones. I lived to tell the tale, but what I witnessed is not something you talk about often. The sights, sounds and smells of what I witnessed 70 years ago have never left me. They never will. I witnessed things no man should ever see. It was the true horror of war.”

Wearing his service medals with pride, Mr. Andrews, who is one of the oldest D-Day veterans in Northern Ireland, said he set sail with his fellow crew in the dead of night heading for the French coast as part of the largest amphibious assault in history to secure freedom in Europe.

Prior to arriving off the coast of Normandy he had been involved in the Battle of the Atlantic, widely regarded as the longest continuous military campaign of World War Two, running from 1939 to the defeat of Germany in 1945.

It was at its height from mid-1940 through to the end of 1943 with Andy Andrews helping HMS Pink launch depth charges and fire torpedoes at German U-boats, many of which were sunk.

Mr. Andrews and his crew were briefed about the D-Day operation in England before joining the largest ever wartime military flotilla which headed across the English Channel with thousands of soldiers on board battle ships heading for the French coast, unaware of the horrors which awaited as they prepared to storm the beaches.

“We spent some time in England after the Battle of the Atlantic before we got our orders and headed for France. We anchored off Normandy to provide aerial cover for the soldiers storming the beaches but had to contend with German bombers flying overhead,” he continued.

“Our orders were to bombard the German hideouts. As we did so, soldiers were jumping into the sea from the landing craft and were up to their waists in water, but many were mowed down like rabbits. My God, it was horrific. It’s a scene that never leaves me. There were bodies everywhere.

“Some soldiers did survive and made it to the beach but they were met by a hail of bullets fired by German snipers and fell dead. They were exposed and could do nothing. Soldiers who escaped the gunfire had to keep going. It was impossible to stop to help comrades. It was awful.”

Mr. Andrews said despite the bloodshed all around he had to try and concentrate on his job, helping the crew of HMS Pink to continue with the allied military bombardment in his role as an electrical engineer.

“We had a job to do and had to remain focused but it wasn’t easy amidst the mayhem,” he continued.

“I had to make sure the ship was running and in between times help the rest of the crews keep a watch out for German subs. The situation was chaotic and it seemed that time stood still. The bombardment appeared to go on for ages. The soldiers who stormed the beaches are the real heroes, but many of them never returned home. They paid the supreme sacrifice.”

Originally from Killyleagh, Mr. Andrews said it was during the D-Day landings when HMS Pink took the full force of a German torpedo.

“I was in my hammock when there was a massive explosion that rocked the ship to its core,” he explained. “I went up on deck and looked towards the back of the ship but all I could see was water. The ship had literally split in two, but she never sunk.

“However, it was clear the vessel was in trouble and I and many others jumped into the sea where we were rescued by an American torpedo boat before we were eventually taken back to England before I was transferred to the HMS Duke of York, ending up in Tokyo at the end of the war.

Mr. Andrews said during HMS Pink’s involvement in the D-Day landings it was “action day and night” with no let up as the continual bombardment of the German lines continued.

“When I see the events of D-Day on television I think of the wives who lost loved ones and the mothers who lost sons. I think of the heartbreak thousands of families who lost loves ones experienced.

“When I think back to what I witnessed it’s frightening. My God, the water was awash with bodies’ it was horrific,” he recalled, taking time again to compose himself and gently wipe tears from his eyes before continuing.

“There were bodies on the beach and those soldiers who did make it from the landing craft panicked. They were running everywhere and being picked off like sitting ducks. The beach was literally covered in dead bodies and it was numbing to witness such a sight.

“The full horror of war was unfolding right in front of me and it was chilling,” he said. “Young people today do not know how much they owe these brave soldiers and the sacrifices they made. Every one of them is a hero. Their courage knew no bounds and they must never be forgotten.”

Mr. Andrews said he took time last Friday on the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings to remember his fallen comrades.

He added: “Soldiers hit by snipers were in the water screaming for help. There were literally bodies everywhere. The horror of war is something I won’t ever forget. People need to be grateful for the sacrifices of others. They must never forget those who have gone before and what they did for them. We must always remember them.”