On June 6, 1944, Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower gave the green light for the largest amphibious military operation in history. Codenamed Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of the heavily Nazi-fortified coast of France's Normandy region has come to be more popularly known as D-Day. On that monumental patriotic battle hung the balance of power in World War II (1939-1945) and the fate of the world. "Higgins was not native to the South. … He grew up in Nebraska, where, at various ages, he was expelled from school for fighting. Higgins' temperament improved around boats. He built his...