General Cota's Bloody Assessment at Omaha Beach

When Brigadier General Norman Cota waded ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day, he reportedly told Col. George Taylor of the 16th Infantry: 'There are only two kinds of people on this beach: the dead and those who are going to die. Now let's get the hell off this beach.' Taylor famously responded: 'There are only two kinds of people who are staying on this beach: the dead and those who are going to die. Now let's get the hell off this beach.' But lesser known: Cota personally grabbed an M1 Garand, a pistol, a rifle, and a machine gun from dead soldiers and carried them forward, handing them to troops and directing them into the fight. He was 50 years old.