*NEW* "The Forgotten Man Who Won the War"
Kansas

Andrew Higgins in 1944.	Ship to shore movements via the Higgins boat.

Andrew Higgins, a fiery-tempered Irishman, originally built oil-prospecting boats in Louisiana. Anticipating the Navy’s need for small wooden boats, Higgins bought the entire 1939 crop of mahogany from the Philippines. Eventually convincing the Navy of the need for small wooden boats, Higgins hired 30,000 workers in New Orleans and began mass-producing the Higgins boat.

On D-day, the Higgins boat landed troops from the 1st Infantry Division directly onto the sandy beaches of Normandy. Higgins’ boats allowed ship-to-shore movement of large numbers of soldiers, giving the US a huge tactical advantage. If Higgins had not designed and built those LCVPs (Landing Craft, Vehicle and Personnel), we never could have landed over an open beach. The whole strategy of the war would have been different.”

“The Forgotten Man Who Won the War”
Produced by: Jared Bahr