D-Day Anniversary
Today is the 80th anniversary of the Normandy D-Day landing. Many of the heroes of the Greatest generation traveled back to Normandy for a final visit. All are over 90 years old, many over 100.
When I was growing up, everyone I knew had a relative who had been killed during World War II. Many of them were killed during the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. Operation Overlord was the largest amphibious invasion in history, and was the beginning of the rescue of Europe from the Nazis. It was only the beginning. The war in Europe continued for another 11 months.
I had known that my cousin Herman was killed in Normandy. For years, I assumed he had been killed during the invasion on June 6. Recently, I discovered a web page that covered Herman Cohen’s service, and learned that he had survived the landing at Utah Beach, and was killed in battle 5 weeks later. During the invasion, he was a Private First Class. As senior soldiers were killed, he was promoted to Sergeant.
In the photos on the website, Private Cohen looks like a young kid before the invasion. In the photo taken shortly before his death, Sergeant Cohen looks like a battle-hardened soldier.
Here is the website telling Herman Cohen’s story:
https://delawarewwiifallen.com/2022/01/24/sergeant-herman-cohen/
Many of the soldiers in the landing craft would sign “short snorter” one-dollar bills. They would each pass a bill around to get everyone’s signature on it, hoping to survive with a souvenir.
Every June 6th I go to Youtube to watch the 10-minute D-Day invasion scene in Saving Private Ryan.
Scott Cerone grew up on Long Island, listening to the Concord supersonic airliner fly final approach to JFK Airport, and KNEW he wanted to fly. He attended the United States Air Force Academy, majoring in General Engineering, and went to Undergraduate Pilot Training at Colombus Air Force Base.
Scott ("Hummer") did well enough in training to score an assignment to the A-10 aircraft, and served in combat over Kosovo, the only war that was fought exclusively by air power. Along with other pilots in his unit, he writes about his experiences in A-10s Over Kosovo, available from Air University Press.
Scott has been a pilot at United Airlines for eight years and is a Captain on the B737.