My uncle was there, 1st wave at Omaha beach. I got to hear him tell some of his stories about that day. It was enthralling! I got to shake his hand and say thank you for what you did. He teared up and shook his head in acknowledgment. He fought in the Hurtgene Forrest, the Bulge and all the way deep into Eastern Europe. He died at age 94 six months ago.
The Army wouldn't take my Dad...bad heart valve,which they were finally able to replace when he was 60.But he did his bit...he helped design,build and test missiles for the Navy during the war.
Your comment reminded me of an experience I had a few years ago at the WWII Memorial in DC.It was cold day,rainy day so there weren't many people there.However,there was an old man,wearing a Marine Corps "WWII & Korea" baseball cap,being wheeled around by a man who was very probably his son.I'll never forget seeing the tears in that old Marine's eyes.I wanted to approach him but decided not to...I feared that doing so would be an intrusion.
I'll never forget it!
Bless him!
Speechless.