Instead of fishing boats, assault craft of the U.S. Navy milled about the little harbor of St. Mawes in May of 1944. They then departed for a rendezvous with LSTs in preparation for a practice landing on a beach some miles away. Life in this sunny village of the Cornish coast went on somewhat as usual and, except for the ominous meaning of the maritime activity, had all the attributes of a lotus-eater’s existence.