The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program is honored to announce the June 2026 story of the month has been selected to honor the memory of 1st Lieutenant Jimmie Monteith, Lima Company, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. This year, the Story of the Month publication will honor and recognize the service memory of those lost by commemorating our Untold Stories of Service work with Richard Sherman, author of “Never Home: Remembering the Military Heroes Who Never Returned.” The following was researched, written, and presented to the Story of the Month publication by Richard Sherman.

Omaha Beach. A four and a half mile long killing zone. Fox Red was the furthest east section. This patch of beach was assigned to India and Lima companies of the 16th regiment, 1st Infantry Division. Here was the Cabourg Draw, one of the five critical egress points for vehicles. The Americans would defeat the German defenses in just under three hours and open a path off the beach for reinforcements.

Leading Lima Company was 26-year-old 1stLieutenant Jimmie Monteith the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. Hailing from Virginia, Monteith was born on July 1, 1917, the youngest of three children. A varsity letterman in football and basketball, he graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1937 and then attended Virginia Tech but dropped out after his sophomore year. Returning home, he worked alongside his father at Cabell Coal Company until he was drafted into the Army in 1941. Monteith went to Fort Benning where he was commissioned a second lieutenant on June 20, 1942, just a few weeks before his father died.

A red-haired 6’2” young officer, he quickly gained respect for his bravery and combat leadership. In May, 1943 he arrived in Algeria with the 1st Infantry Division. He received a battlefield promotion to first lieutenant on September 3, 1943 while fighting in Sicily.

From there, his 16th Infantry Regiment headed to England for months of training ahead of Operation Overlord.  On June 6, 1944, he commanded Lima company with 200 men that landed in the first wave at Fox Red.

Under intense fire from two German Widerstandsnest (Resistance Nests), the men of Lima Company had no natural defenses. And that meant one thing: push forward. Monteith is recorded as having crossed the exposed beach several times, covering more than 200 yards to keep his men together. Lima lost 75 men as it moved 200 yards inland. As Monteith was later quoted as saying, "Man--one thing is for sure--this ain't our day."

Amidst the barrage of enemy fire, Monteith traversed the beach on foot to two Sherman tanks that were buttoned-up under heavy artillery fire, and he led them through a minefield so they could direct fire at machine guns and pillboxes. This was a pivotal moment as the artillery began pounding away at Nazi defensive fortifications.

By 9:00 am the American Army had secured Cabourg Draw.

So far, so good.

Around noon, however, the Germans organized a counter-attack and surrounded Lima company. As his platoon was battered by German machine gun fire. Monteith pushed forward and destroyed a machine gun with a hand grenade. Next, he crossed a large field to a second nest, and destroyed it as well. As fire intensified further east, Monteith again turned towards the threat, but was shot from behind.

Jimmie Monteith was one of more than 2,400 American troops killed on D-Day. However, his unit accomplished its mission and the Cabourg Draw egress point was opened under his brave and inspirational leadership.

For his actions, Monteith was awarded the Medal of Honor. Of Monteith, General Eisenhower said, “…Bradley recommends the Medal of Honor, and I must say the things looks like a Medal of Honor for me. This man was good.”

On March 19, 1945, Jimmie’s mother, Caroline received his Medal at her home in Richmond, VA. You can visit Jimmie Monteith at Normandy American Cemetery, where he rests under a marble cross with gold lettering that honors the Medal of Honor recipients.

The United States Navy Memorial honors 1st Lieutenant Jimmie Monteith, featured within this Story of the Month. Each month, this series honors a Veteran’s story recorded by the Stories of Service Program at the Navy Memorial. To learn more about this story and to explore the Navy Memorial archive, visit the Navy Memorial Stories of Service site at https://www.navymemorial.org/stories-of-service

Richard Sherman is a award winning-author, professor, Navy Gulf War Veteran, and contributor to the Untold Stories of Service Program. Richard also joined the ranks of the Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program and actively interviews Veterans which has enriched our program by conducting extraordinary interviews which are now part of the Navy Memorial Interview Archive. To further explore the work of Richard Sherman, visit:  www.NeverHomeHeroes.com