The absence of shell craters indicated that the guns had never come close to being bombed. The camouflage netting that blended with the leafy orchard probably was the reason they had escaped detection in aerial photos, [Len Lomell] thought. No ejected shell casings lay around the site. The guns were squeaky clean. Apparently, they had never been fired and had never been on Pointe-du-Hoc.

Quickly, Lomell took out his and [Jack Kuhn]'s thermite grenades, and laid them on the transversing and elevation mechanisms of two of the guns. The detonators popped slightly like a beer can. White heat glowed on the guns' parts. In seconds, the mechanisms were solid puddles of metal.

Incredibly, the Germans still hadn't returned to the gun site by the time Lomell and Kuhn arrived out of breath. Once more, Lomell crawled into the gun position and laid the thermite grenades on the rest of the operating mechanisms. Now, all the guns were completely inoperable.