Posted on 06/06/2013 1:39:15 AM PDT by Olog-hai
At the Vineland (N.J.) Veterans Memorial Home, assistant business manager William H. Palmer Jr. has a special bond with the 175 or so World War II veterans who live there. His father, Ensign William H. Palmer, was part of a secret mission during the D-Day invasion that delivered messages from the command ship Ancon to the shore during days of radio silence.
Just like Butch Maisel, a Baltimore history teacher whose father landed on D-Day, Palmer is determined to carry forth the legacy. I went to find out what my father did on D-Day, he said, and the research led him to write two books, one about the Rocket Men and the other about his fathers secret duty. I was always interested because my father told me he had almost drowned at Utah Beach.
(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...
My dad’s brother was killed during the Normandy invasion, near Cherbourg on 29 June, a day after that city fell to allied troops, and about a month before the “breakout.” All the Army ever told the family was that he died when his tank hit a mine. Always wanted to find out more (did he land on D-Day or come in later?, did his tank hit the mine on 29 June, or did he die of injuries he got earlier in a tank?, etc.). He was a radio operator in an infantry unit. What was he doing in a tank? So many questions.
Here it is.
Thank you so much for posting this.
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