Overview

Operation Neptune's Vault: The Drowned Gold of D-Day by Peter H. Fairbanks takes readers beneath the surface of the Normandy invasion to uncover a little-known wartime mystery hidden within the greatest amphibious assault in history. As Allied forces stormed the beaches on June 6, 1944, vast quantities of military pay moved with them in sealed chests of gold, silver, and currency, essential to keeping armies functioning in the chaos of liberation. In the violence and confusion of the landings, some of that money never reached shore. Landing craft sank, cargo vanished, and the sea quietly absorbed what official records would later smooth over. Tracing the naval machinery of Operation Neptune, Fairbanks follows the movement of Allied pay from English ports to the surf lines of Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Drawing on archival records, naval loss reports, military finance procedures, and underwater archaeology, he examines how pay chests were handled, why some disappeared, and how their loss was absorbed by wartime bureaucracy. The investigation moves from post-invasion recovery efforts and classified accounting practices to modern discoveries by fishermen and divers, revealing how wrecks, sediment, and law have preserved secrets beneath the Channel for decades. Grounded in documented history and careful analysis, yet alive to the enduring pull of unanswered questions, Operation Neptune's Vault: The Drowned Gold of D-Day explores the boundary between record and silence, recovery and remembrance. Ideal for readers fascinated by World War II, naval history, lost treasure, and submerged mysteries, this book blends meticulous research with compelling narrative to illuminate a forgotten dimension of D-Day that still rests beneath the tides.

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