Leonard Lomell

Pointe du Hoc was the site of the German Army's largest coastal weapons, five 155-millimeter German guns with a 25-kilometer range that endangered the tens of thousands of troops landing on Omaha Beach and Utah Beach, and thousands of watercraft in the English Channel supporting the Normandy invasion. Unbeknownst to the Allied intelligence, the Germans had concealed the guns in an orchard, but left them operational and ready to fire. Through skill, courage and "pure luck," Lomell found and quickly disabled all five guns. Lomell was recognized by historian Stephen Ambrose as the single individual—other than Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower—most responsible for the success of D-Day. Six months later, in the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, he would again distinguish himself, earning a Silver Star for his heroism and leadership as the 2nd Ranger Battalion captured and held Hill 400. After the war he returned to Ocean County, New Jersey, becoming an attorney in Toms River.

The initial mission of companies D, E and F of the 2nd Ranger Battalion was one of the most difficult of the entire invasion – scaling sheer cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, seizing control of its massively reinforced fortifications, and disabling five 155-millimeter cannons that allied intelligence reported had been emplaced there. Their landing was scheduled to coincide with the first landings on Omaha Beach.

In 2012, Ocean County officials honored Lomell's memory by naming a newly created connector road at Garden State Parkway Exit 83 "Lomell Lane."

During his lifetime, he participated in a number of television and radio interviews about D-Day. He died of natural causes at his Toms River home on March 1, 2011, at 91 years old.

In 2007, Lomell received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Monmouth University.

On December 4, 1999, the Borough of Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey dedicated a monument to Lomell at the Veterans Park on Arnold Avenue. The Monument has a replica of the grapnel hook used by the Rangers at Pointe Du Hoc, which was given by the residents of Grandcamp-Maisy, France, along with a plaque detailing the contribution that Lomell made during the war effort.

For his actions in disabling the Pointe du Hoc guns, Lomell received the U.S. Army's Distinguished Service Cross the British Military Medal, and the French Légion d'honneur. In addition to his Silver Star, Lomell also received a Bronze Star. In 1994, he was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame.

Lomell would soon be wounded a third time, in the Battle of the Bulge. He was honorably discharged in December 1945, four months after VJ Day and seven months after VE Day.

Lomell returned to New Jersey in 1945, and married Charlotte on the second anniversary of D-Day. Leonard and Charlotte were eventually the parents of three daughters. He enrolled in law school at La Salle University and Rutgers University, passing the bar in 1951. He was the founder and senior member of the law firm of Lomell, Muccifori, Adler, Ravaschiere & Amabile, subsequently known as the Lomell Law Firm. He retired from the practice of law in the mid-1980s.

On December 7, 1944, companies of the Second Ranger Battalion were ordered to attack Hill 400, a commanding battlefield position that four divisions of the First Army had tried and failed to take. The Rangers caught the Germans by surprise, but early in the battle the commanding officers of each company were wounded or captured, and the Rangers were soon outnumbered ten to one. Lomell — now a second lieutenant following a battlefield commission — then took charge, representing the entire command structure on the crest of the hill. Lomell personally attacked a German weapons shelter on the newly conquered hilltop, driving the surviving enemy to surrender. As military historian Charles B. MacDonald would later write, "so swiftly did the Rangers move that the Germans were thoroughly cowed," so that "by 0835 the two companies had taken twenty-eight prisoners and held the crest.". Before the day was over the Germans would counterattack five times. Lomell was awarded the Silver Star at a ceremony in Toms River NJ on November 9, 2007, for his heroism at Hill 400. As Lomell's Silver Star citation would later state, "conspicuously leading from the front, Lomell directed the successful defense of the hilltop in the face of a nearly overwhelming German counterattack at midday. During the German bombardment that preceded the attack, Lomell suffered a head concussion and shrapnel wound in his left arm rendering it useless. Refusing shelter and, at risk of his life with blood oozing from his ears, nose and mouth, firing his machine gun cradled in his bandaged left arm with his right hand, he continued to lead his men against another ruthless German assault throughout the entire afternoon." According to MacDonald, "by 1600 the Rangers had only twenty-five men left,″ but with precision artillery support, Lomell and the other twenty-four held out long enough to be relieved.

Lomell attended Tennessee Wesleyan College, on an athletic scholarship and work program, where he was editor of the school newspaper and president of his fraternity. He graduated in 1941, then returned to New Jersey to work as a brakeman on a freight train before enlisting in the Army. While working in New Jersey he met his future wife, Charlotte Ewart, then training as a nurse. Lomell entered the Army in 1942 and initially served with the 76th Infantry Division, before volunteering for the Rangers.

The Battalion would successfully defend its victories for the next few days before it was finally relieved. Of the 225 Rangers who disembarked with 1st Sgt Lomell, only 90 were left standing at the end of the battle.

Leonard G. "Bud" Lomell (January 22, 1920 – March 1, 2011) was a highly decorated former United States Army Ranger who served in World War II. He is best known for his actions in the first hours of D-Day at Pointe du Hoc on the coast of Normandy, France.