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- [S4] Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee), 4 Jun 2000.
A Fallen Tennessean
56 years after D-Day, a sergeant's family learns about his final moments
June 4, 2000
By Bryan Mitchell, News-Sentinel staff writer
Sgt. Lloyd Robertson, Jr., was killed in action just after the Allied Armies invaded France on June 6, 1944.
SEVIERVILLE -- Hundreds of miles from the highly traveled President Kennedy Avenue in downtown Paris, French farmers make a daily cruise down a rural road named for a lesser-known American -- Lloyd Murphy Robertson Jr.
Fifty-six years ago, on June 6, 1944, the Sevier County native was a 24-year-old forward observer when Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, in the D-Day battle that shifted momentum toward the Allied side during World War II.
Four days later, while patrolling the Utah Beach area with fellow 24-year-old Marion L. Hill Jr., Sgt. Robertson was killed by a German sniper. The road, which runs from Ravenoville to Ravenoville Beach, is named in honor of the fallen Tennessean.
Until recently, however, Robertson's family knew little about his final days.
"All we had was sort of a verbal thing, a family story," said Robertson's cousin, Vivian Miner. "We didn't even know what beach he went in on."
All of that changed, though, when more than two years worth of research conducted by Miner's husband, Jim Miner, culminated two weeks ago in a meeting between Hill and Robertson's family.
For Hill, now a 78-year-old retired train operator, the trip from his Waynesboro, Ga., home was a manifestation of years of desire to meet the family of his fallen comrade.
"We have been married for 15 years, and he has always said that he would like to meet Lloyd's family," said Hill's wife, Janice Hill.
For Ralph Robertson, Lloyd's stepbrother, the meeting was an emotional reminder of tougher times gone by.
"We were at an ice cream supper at the local church and I remember Vivian's dad came in and we knew something was wrong," Ralph Robertson said, recalling how he heard of his brother's fate.
"After that many years, you don't expect to hear from anyone. It's kind of surprising because we really had no information."
However, due to Jim Miner's tireless hours of research, Lloyd Robertson's family was able to meet, and query, the last man to speak with him.
Hill, who also was awarded the Bronze Star for establishing a line of communication across the Rhine River, spoke candidly with Robertson's family from the Miner's home.
"We were trying to avoid the snipers who were firing at us, but one hit Robertson right between the eyes," Hill said. "He got hit, so I had to get out of there so he (the sniper) did not hit me."
Hill continued with the tale of the battle's opening stanza.
"They put that (landing craft) pad down, and it was each man for himself," Hill said. "If you ain't scared to die, then it's not scary."
For Hill, reminiscing in Miner's living room as Lloyd Robertson's family listened intently, the memory of the battle also evoked some laughter.
"Teddy Roosevelt Jr. led our division, and we landed two miles north of our destination, and that is when he said, 'We'll start the war here,'" Marion Hill said with a cackle.
According to Ralph Robertson, Lloyd was in Normandy by choice, as he elected to leave his post training new recruits in New Jersey for the battle.
"Basically, he made some tough choices," Ralph Robertson said. "He had the opportunity to stay in America and train soldiers, but he wanted to go over there and join the invasion. He has lots of pride, you know -- loyalty."
For Lloyd Robertson's family, the meeting helped shed some light on a half-century's worth of cloudy details.
"It's really upsetting how little they tell you and how mixed up everything gets afterward," Vivian Miner said of the family's inability to receive factual information concerning Lloyd's death. "There has been precious little information."
Hill's visit proved to be a worthwhile experience for Ralph Robertson, who was an adolescent at the time of Lloyd's death.
"I was just 12 years old during D-Day," he said. "We just never heard too much."
But after Marion Hill made the trip from his Georgia home to Sevierville, many of those blanks became vivid images from an unforgettable experience.
"It was just a war and I wasn't over there by myself. I was very fortunate to make it through," said Hill, who is the last living forward observer of the 15 he accompanied on the historic raid. "You don't forget something like this."
Of the 15 members of his unit, only five survived the D-Day mission.
Later, Hill was stationed in Belgium, where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
"After the Battle of the Bulge, it was just a rat race," Hill said with a smile. "(The Germans) were retreating so fast we couldn't keep up with them."
The meeting, the first Robertson's family shared with someone Lloyd knew from the military, came out of Miner's research of the road bearing Lloyd's name.
"I'm glad I met them. It feels good," Hill said. "I'm glad I got to tell him about Lloyd."
For Jim Miner, the meeting proved to be a success and yet another reason to pay homage to America's veterans on the anniversary of the invasion.
"It's a time when we reflect on not only the tremendous sacrifice of those who went in at Utah or Omaha Beach, but of all those who paid the supreme sacrifice in either Europe or the Pacific."
Bryan Mitchell may be reached at 865-342-6322 or MitchellB@Knews.com.
- [S78] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume I, 1930-1954, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 26 May 1948.
Robertson, Sgt Lloyd m. d. Jun 10, 1944 Normandy Recd May 26, 1948 f. Lloyd m. Robertson Sr Red Bank Cem Survivors: Mr & Mrs Lloyd Robertson 2 bro George Robertson Ralph Robertson 2 sis Beulah Robertson Martha Robertson g-parents Mr & Mrs L. D. Robertson.
- [S34] In the Shadow of the Smokies, Smoky Mountain Historical Society, (1993), 423.
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