Beachmaster

In order to establish order out of the chaos of the D-Day beach assaults, United States Navy officers (as part of naval beach battalions) were assigned to specific sectors of each beach and given the title "beachmaster." Outfitted with standard Army equipment, they could be identified by their white armbands, marked with a large "B" and the smaller word "beachmaster," and the Navy markings on their helmets.

The beachmaster's duties included communications between vessels at sea and the troops on the beach, as well as the important task of helping troops, often-times scattered and in the wrong location, to reach their proper objectives. The beachmasters were not only valuable during the initial invasion, but just as important later on in directing the flow of men and equipment that arrived after the Normandy beachheads were secured.