The Wyeth and Wythe Families of America: June 2023

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Navy Lt. j.g. Sidney Wyeth Brinker's Craft First to Land on Omaha Beach

LCT-30 commanded by Sidney Wyeth Brinker (insert)

on the sands of Omaha Beach, 6 June 1944

When the fog lifted over the Normandy coast on this day, 6 Jun 1944, the German officer in command of Omaha Beach fortifications reported seeing 4,000 ships headed directly at him. His men fired their guns on the Allied landing crafts until they ran out of ammunition. Navy Lieutenant j. g. Sidney Wyeth Brinker, veteran of invasions in North Africa and Sicily, was the skipper of LCT-30, the first craft to land on Omaha Beach at H-Hour.

Sidney said the tide just pushed his boat ashore right into the sand. LCT-30 carried troops and gear of the 29th Infantry, many of whom never made it more than a few yards onto the beach. Sidney's college picture here is inserted into a photo from footage showing the LCT-30 in Victory at Sea, mark 26 min 05. The documentary ends with allied soldiers moving forward after the breakthrough. The narrator states, "Behind the survivors lie those who died to enslave the world and those who died to free it."

Although Sidney was wounded during World War II, he blessed the day when he returned home to the loving arms of his mother, Lorna Alice Wyeth. For Christmas 1943, it had been Lorna's fervent wish her other son, Lt. Comdr. Robert M. Brinker, would be found. Robert's submarine had been lost at sea near the Philippines on 9 Sep 1943. Lorna's hopes were kept alive until Robert was officially declared dead on 3 Jan 1946.

THE WYETH AND WYTHE FAMILIES OF AMERICA

Written by Christina Wyeth Baker and published by Heritage Books of Berwyn Heights, MD, 2019, 8½x11, paperback, 558 pages, B5897, ISBN-10 0788458973 is $55.00 plus shipping and handling. To buy the book and have it inscribed by the author, please click here to email Christina Wyeth Baker. Additionally, the publisher, Heritage Books, sells the book on their website as well as through several well-known booksellers. For more information, please check out and like our Facebook site @WyethWythefamilies

About Jeff Wyeth

In 1977, while stationed with the U.S. Army in Germany, Jeff began writing letters of inquiry to family all over the U.S. One of the first responses came from Palm Beach architect Marion Sims Wyeth who designed the exterior of Mar-a-Lago. Marion sent Jeff his privately published booklet detailing the discovery of Nicholas Wyeth's birthplace in Saxtead. On page three of the booklet, Marion said he “is issuing this account at the present time in its very incomplete condition for fear that the notes might be … lost to some other member of the family who may be interested in carrying on this search.” Jeff took the word "search" literally. Finally after 33 years of searching, in 2010, Jeff convinced his sister to write a book based on his collections. Jeff and Christina are from the line of Nicholas' 3rd great grandson, Stephen Wyeth, who transplanted the Wyeth name from MA to OH. Stephen’s father Ebenezer Wyeth III, the oldest child of Ebenezer Wyeth Jr. and Mary Winship, grew up on the shores of Cambridge’s Fresh Pond. In 2020, Jeff and his wife Teresa celebrated 40 years of marriage. They are the proud parents and grandparents of one son and three grandchildren. Jeff serves as an evangelist for the Church of Christ in Grayling, MI.

ABOUT JAMIE WYETH

Celebrated artist, James Browning “Jamie” Wyeth really needs no introduction. Undoubtedly, Jamie is now the most famous Wyeth-named descendant of Nicholas Wyeth. For over six decades, Jamie has painted portraits of pigs, presidents and ballet dancers with equal skill. Walking in the legendary footsteps of his father, Andrew, and grandfather, Newell Convers "N. C.", Jamie has distinguished himself in his own right as a contemporary realist painter. Like his father and grandfather, Jamie’s creativity thrives in the unique environments of the Brandywine region of Pennsylvania and Delaware as well as the mid-coast of Maine. Jamie descends from Nicholas Wyeth’s great grandson, Noah Wyeth. Interestingly, when her mother died, Jamie’s third great grandmother, Lydia Convers Francis, age nine, went to live with Christina and Jeff’s ancestors, Ebenezer Wyeth Jr. and Mary Winship, on the shores of Cambridge’s Fresh Pond. At age 25, Lydia married the nephew of her benefactors, Captain Job Wyeth.

Library Holdings for Christina Wyeth Baker's Book

The Wyeth and Wythe Families of America is owned by The Library of Congress, Washington, DC; the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA; the Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, IN; the Saint Louis County Library, St. Louis, MO; the Mid-Continent Public Library Independence, MO; the Wichita Public Library, Wichita, KS; the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Washington, DC; the Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge, MA and the Licking County Genealogical Society at the Licking County Library, Newark, OH.