D-Day anniversary today.
I remember walking the beaches of Normandy in 1975, or so, and marveling at the distance from waterline to cover for the infantry landing there. My respect for the deeds done that day increased a thousand fold.
The actor, Charles Durning, landed in Normandy this day with the First Infantry Division. He earned a silver star for actions later in the war.
Corporal Edward Stegg was there as well, also with the Big Red One. He was awarded the Silver Star for his actions that day. He survived the war, returned home to Camden, NJ. He married and had a son and daughter. He opened his own business, HVAC. I dated his daughter... went steady with her. I met them both while playing with the Runnemede Fire Company String Band. Ed played tenor sax and was a big fan of both Boots Randolf and Cadillac convertables. I found out about his service by accident. He never talked about it. I came across a picture of him, in combat uniform, holding a Thompson sub-machine gun. He was standing in some dunes, surrounded by saw grass. His wife told me the story when I asked her about it.
Heroes...
they do walk among us, unannounced.
I had thought that the English actor, David Niven, had landed in Normandy on D-Day but after checking out his bio page, found out he landed a few days later. He's credited, instead, with participating in the "Invasion of Normandy."
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