on 6 june 1944, in the face of great adversity, the ncdus at omaha beach managed to blow eight complete gaps and two partial gaps in the german defenses. the ncdus suffered 31 killed and 60 wounded, a casualty rate of 52%. meanwhile, the ncdus at utah beach met less intense enemy fire. they cleared of beach in two hours, another by the afternoon. casualties at utah beach were significantly lighter with six killed and eleven wounded. during operation overlord, not a single demolitioneer was lost to improper handling of explosives.