The Memorial

Although peaceful today, the area around Slapton sands and the Ley (lake) behind were a battle training ground in preparation for the 1944 D-Day landings. Many of the farms and villages in the area were vacated by the inhabitants from 1943 to allow the US army to train.

On the beach at Slapton sands stands a granite memorial to men killed during a training session which went disastrously wrong when it was attacked by German boats. The inscription reads;

Dedicated by the United States of America in honor of the 749 men of the 4th Infantry Division, the 279th Combat Engineers, and the 70th Tank Battalion, United States Army, who, along with crew members of the eight landing ships, U.S. Navy, perished off the coast of Slapton Sands, Torcross, while participating in Operation Tiger, April 26-28 1944. A training exercise in amphibious landings, Operation Tiger was a prelude to the invasion of Europe on June 6, 1944. This joint rehearsal by British and American forces resulted in a military tragedy in which the support convoy was attacked during the early morning hours by German schnellboots. The surprise attack resulted in the loss of several fully loaded and manned landing craft.

May these men rest in the knowledge that the lessons of this tragedy added significantly to the ability of the Allies to carry out the successful invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. May these soldiers and sailors be remembered for their supreme sacrifice for the Allied cause in World War II.