Tuscaloosa resident still remembers D-Day ‘like it was yesterday’
The notebook holds special meaning for the 98-year-old
"We weren't supposed to keep a diary in those days," said Haggerty, adding that his superior officers discouraged their subordinates from writing because of the security risks if a diary fell into the hands of the enemy.
The secrecy of having a diary meant Haggerty had to write down his thoughts in a secluded part of the ship. In addition to maintaining a sense of normalcy during the war, Haggerty's reasons for keeping it were less philosophical than one would imagine.
"It was just for the hell of it," he said.
On Tuesday at his home in the
"This is the day we've been waiting for," a younger Haggerty wrote. "Twelve thousand paratroopers were supposed to land in
On that day, Haggerty and a group of fellow
To do their job, there was a standard for how to pick up soldiers out of the ocean.
"You didn't pick anybody who was bleeding from the nose, the mouth and the ears because they were going to die anyway," he said.
That day still haunts Haggerty, which he said still feels like it happened yesterday.
"The worst was seeing dead bodies floating by," he said. "You never forget that."
In 1941, Haggerty had just graduated from
"Back then, you signed up for four years, and he stayed on
In the service, Haggerty was a Boatsman 1st Class in charge of making sure the ship deck was secure and that all of the enlisted personnel were where they were supposed to be. Over the next couple of years, Haggerty's boat came under enemy fire, but it did not faze him at the time.
"You just hoped and prayed the guy behind you got it instead of you," he said.
However, Haggerty never had any qualms about the work he had to do during the war.
"You did what you were told," he said. "There were no ifs, ands or buts about it. You were given certain things to do and you did it, otherwise you would end up in the brig."
In addition to his diary, Haggerty also kept a tattered American flag that flew on the Sub Chaser, better known as the "464," during D-Day. Like his diary, he hid the flag in his duffel bag.
"The old man told me to replace the flag," he said. "I was supposed to burn it, but I brought it out when I knew he wasn't looking."
After the war ended in 1945, Haggerty returned to
"I've always had an immense amount of respect for him and what he did during the war," said
Haggerty said he has lived a good life full of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Through his work in the
"You do what you're supposed to do, be disciplined, look after others and be more concerned for the other fellow than yourself," he said.
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