Norman Daniel "Dutch" Cota Sr. (May 30, 1893 – October 4, 1971) was a senior United States Army officer who fought during World War II.

He is known for rallying demoralized troops on Omaha Beach on D-Day, by engaging in combat beside them and personally leading their first successful breakout, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC).

[6] He later served in Hawaii (1924–1928) and graduated from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in June 1931.

[7] In that same month, right after his involvement in the Allied invasion of North Africa, under the command of Major General Terry Allen, he prepared a report which included suggested revisions to the task organization of assault divisions, and his recommendations were adopted during preparations for Operation Husky, the codename for the Allied invasion of Sicily.

[7] The 29th Division, a National Guard formation nicknamed the "Blue and Gray",[12] was commanded by his fellow West Point classmate, Major General Charles H. Gerhardt.

Major General Leonard T. Gerow, commander of V Corps, and Admiral John L. Hall Jr., commander of Amphibious Force "O" (the naval force responsible for delivery of the 1st Infantry Division to the beach), both fought to change the Operation Overlord plan, pleading for a nighttime assault.

However, the high command decided otherwise, concluding that naval and air bombardment would hopefully neutralize, or in the best case, eradicate, enemy opposition.

The plan for Omaha essentially called for hurling infantry directly at a prepared enemy position, a position that was enhanced by the concave shape of the beach (effectively promoting enemy crossfire into the "basin" of the concavity), natural and man-made obstacles, bad weather and other factors.

Most D-Day commanders assured their men that the Germans would be annihilated by the Allies' pre-invasion firepower, and that the defenders were, in any case, outnumbered, inexperienced and demoralized.

[15][16][17] Two quotes Cota spoke during the initial fighting later became famous: For his heroic leadership on D-Day and in the days and weeks afterwards, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), the citation for which reads: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Brigadier General Norman Daniel Cota (ASN: 0-5284), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Assistant Division Commander, 29th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces on 6 June 1944, at Normandy, France.

With complete disregard for his own safety, General Cota moved up and down the fire-swept beach reorganizing units and coordinating their action.

After attempting to trap the retreating Germans at Le Neubourg and Elbeuf on the Seine River, Cota and the 28th Division were assigned to represent the U.S. Army in the parade celebrating the liberation of Paris.

In an article written for the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, Lieutenant Colonel (ret) Thomas Bradbeer identified "three crucial mistakes" that Cota made.

Finally, he chose not to employ the extra armor units he was given in support of his infantry, believing the terrain and road system to be unsuitable for their use, whereas much of the forest was in fact accessible.

Furthermore, Lieutenant General Bradley criticized Cota for remaining in his command post, visiting the front only once late in the fighting, by which time he had already lost control of the situation.

[6] Cota also reviewed and approved the death sentence handed down by a court-martial on Private Eddie Slovik, who refused combat duty on October 8, 1944, and was executed on January 31, 1945.

[27] Cota married writer and teacher Constance Martha "Connie" Alexander[28] at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation in New York City on November 1, 1919.

[30] Cota's son was a U.S. Army Air Corps fighter pilot and provided reconnaissance for the 28th Division during the Battle of Hürtgen Forest.

In the film, Eddie Albert, who portrayed Colonel Lloyd Thompson [34] spoke Cota's "let us go inland" quote.

Robert Mitchum, who portrayed Cota,[35] delivered another quote in his dialogue, one actually attributed to Colonel George A. Taylor: "There are only two kinds of people who are staying on this beach: those who are already dead and those that are gonna die.