Captain Leonard Schroeder, 8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division
Lt. Colonel Leonard Schroeder, 25th Division Uniform.
Schroeder's uniform ribbon bar.
Captain Leonard Schroeder of the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division was the first seaborne launched soldier to step foot on Utah beach on 6-June-1944. Lt. Colonel Schroeder was with the 25th Infantry Division during the Korean War.
Born: July 16, 1918, Linthicum Heights, Maryland
Died: May 26, 2009, Largo, Florida (age 90)
Service: United States Army, 1941-1971 (30 years)
Final Rank: Colonel
Notable Distinction: First American soldier to come ashore from a landing craft on D-Day
Leonard Treherne Schroeder Jr., known to friends and fellow soldiers as "Max" or "Moose," was born in the Baltimore suburb of Linthicum Heights, Maryland. Despite being bullied as a child, he transformed himself into an outstanding athlete at Glen Burnie High School, where he graduated in 1937. As captain of his high school soccer team in 1936, he led them to the Maryland state championship. He also excelled in baseball.
His athletic prowess earned him a full scholarship to the University of Maryland, College Park, where he enrolled in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). He graduated in June 1941 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army at age 22.
Schroeder was initially assigned to the 4th Infantry Division at Camp Gordon, near Augusta, Georgia. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, he remained with the division as they prepared for combat. In September 1943, his division moved to Florida for intensive amphibious assault training using various landing craft. By January 1944, the division had shipped to southern England to continue preparations for Operation Overlord.
On the morning of June 6, 1944, Captain Leonard Schroeder, then 25 years old, commanded Company F of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. His company consisted of 219 men tasked with the initial assault on Utah Beach as part of the first wave.
The night of June 5-6, Schroeder and his men sailed from England aboard the USS Barnett through rough seas in the English Channel. Before departing for battle, he wrote a letter to his wife expressing his love and explaining his mission. At a final briefing, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. requested to ride in Schroeder's landing craft, saying, "Moose, take me in your boat when you go ashore."
At 2:30 a.m. on June 6, the company boarded their Landing Craft, Vehicle Personnel (LCVP). At 6:28 a.m., two minutes ahead of H-Hour, Schroeder's LCVP was the first of 20 landing craft to reach Utah Beach. As the ramp dropped, Captain Schroeder became the first American soldier to step ashore from a landing craft in the D-Day invasion, wading through waist-deep water while Allied forces were still shelling the beach.
It is unlikely that Schroeder's LCVP was scheduled to be the first to reach shore especially when you consider his passenger; the leader may have wanted to lead or be in a position of observation to direct his men. Despite not knowing the facts of the moment, fate may have intervened. When each craft loaded at the troop ship they then went into a circling movement, a 'Picadilly' if you will, they did not just sit an bob in the water. Then when the horn blew they all headed toward shore. Whether by luck or happenstance , Schroeder found his LCVP in the lead. The rest is history.
Despite being wounded twice in his left arm during the assault, Schroeder continued to lead his men inland until he collapsed and was evacuated on a stretcher. Medical personnel initially recommended amputation of his left arm, but Schroeder refused morphine during evacuation and successfully pleaded with doctors in England to save his limb. Though the arm was saved, nerve damage prevented his return to combat duty in World War II.
For his heroic leadership on D-Day, Schroeder was awarded the Silver Star with "V" Device, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart.
It must be noted that paratroops reached the Normandy shores 6 hours before the Invasion from the Sea. Additionally, in the leadup to the infantry landings, Navy seabees, but more specifically Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) cleared some corridors/paths to the specific landing beaches of mines. This was all work done under the waves of the Normandy beaches. It is unlikely any UTDs got out of the water for fear of being discovered and possibly alerting the Germans to the pending attack. But it is Schroeder who is credited with being the first to step out of the water from a ship launched craft onto dry land on D-Day.
Rather than ending his service after his D-Day wounds, Schroeder made the Army his career, serving for 30 years total. His post-war assignments included:
Throughout his career, he earned numerous decorations including the Legion of Merit and additional service medals.
Colonel Schroeder retired from active duty in 1971 and settled in Largo, Florida, with his wife Margaret. In retirement, he remained active in veterans' organizations and frequently shared his D-Day experiences with younger generations.
On the 50th anniversary of D-Day in 1994, he was honored in Normandy and featured in French television broadcasts about the invasion. He was profiled in the French magazine VSD, where he humbly reflected: "Today, I realize that to be the first man ashore is an immense honor, yet I do not merit it more than anyone else. Five of my men died down there at Normandy. They alone are the heroes."
The Armed Forces Military Museum in Largo, Florida, maintained an exhibit displaying Schroeder's D-Day uniform, boots, and equipment, along with a narration of his experience recorded in his own voice. His M-1 helmet, painted with captain's bars and the distinctive Ivy Cross of the 4th Infantry Division, was later donated to The National WWII Museum in New Orleans.
Leonard Schroeder died of emphysema on May 26, 2009, at age 90. He is interred at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida, alongside his wife Margaret, who died in 2010. At ceremonies commemorating the 65th anniversary of D-Day in 2009, the Armed Forces Military Museum presented his family with a memorial plaque displaying the insignia of all 19 Army divisions that landed on the Normandy beaches.
Throughout his life, Schroeder remained humble about his historic role, always emphasizing that while he may have been first off the landing craft, paratroopers and other personnel had actually landed in France before him. He consistently honored the memory of the men who served under him and never returned home, embodying the soldier's creed of service before self.
This summer tan uniform is in the Sons of Liberty Museum Collection.
Right breast:
Name Badge
Presidential Unit Citation (WWII, 4th Infantry Division)
Korean Presidential Unit Citation (Korean War, 25th Infantry Division)
US Army Armor Branch Insignia collar brass.
Left breast:
Ribbons L to R, top to bottom.
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star
Purple Heart
American Defense
American Campaign
European Campaign and 3 campaign stars.
World War II Victory
Occupation Duty
National Defense
United Nations in Korea Campaign and 3 campaign starts.
United Nations Service
Shoulder Patches: 25th Infantry Division, 4th Infantry Division.