Recent News:
Dr. Linner not
only kept an unedited daily diary of his Navy service during
World War II, but also served as photographer on two ships: the LST-6 during the
Normandy invasion, and the AKA-103 at Okinawa. In this book, he has combined
his diary, selected photographs and explanatory maps with a thoughtful
historical overview of principal aspects of the war gleaned from his
extensive WWII bibliography. The book provides a great source of knowledge
in an engaging format for young and old alike. It has received rave
reviews.
Wounded soldiers from the Normandy beach were brought to LST-6 in small landing crafts where the tank deck had been converted to a huge emergency room. Linner noted: "What tragic sights they were! They were all so young and so bewildered. One had his lower jaw shot away, another had lost both eyes to shrapnel..." LSTs could not land on Omaha beach on D-Day because German 88mm cannons high in the surrounding cliffs could easily hit ships up to 400 yards off the beach and the allies simply could not afford to lose them. Doctors and corpsmen struggled to save lives while the ships' moves were dictated by sea mines, German "E" boats and rough channel seas.



