On 6 June 1944, Lieutenant Colonel Bennett, along with the 62nd Armored Field Artillery Battalion which he commanded, landed with the second wave at 0720 on D-Day. His party was subjected to a tremendous volume of machine gun fire which inflicted 50 percent casualties before they reached the comparative safety of the shingle at the base of the cliff adjoining the beach. Observing that following units were pinned down on the beach, he immediately left his cover and moved about the beach under heavy fire in order to assemble and reorganize the infantry assault companies, four tanks, and an antiaircraft unit.
By redistributing the remaining officers and equipment; by emplacing the .50 caliber machine guns of the antiaircraft unit so as to give close support to the infantry; and by radioing for tank and artillery fire support from the LCTs, he organized a sizable force and, at about 1000 hours, successfully assaulted the ridge. He then continued moving about the beach under intense fire and succeeded in locating a protected place to bring his battalion and move it across the beach. Lieutenant Colonel Bennett, in disregarding his own safety under such heavy enemy fire throughout the day and in his clear thinking, contributed immeasurably to the establishment of the beachhead.