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D-Day on June 6, 1944, was such a hinge-of-history event that I was interested in seeing where Greensboro men and women in uniform were. So in one of my columns, I asked: “Where were you and what were you doing on D-Day?”

The number of replies surprised me. I was also surprised how many were overseas or were on their way to bases in places many had never heard of.

Thanks to all who responded. Unless otherwise noted, the veterans live or lived in Greensboro.

Shared by veterans

“On May 5, 1944, my B-24 crew and 17 other crews, plus 15,000 other military personnel, departed New York aboard the Queen Elizabeth headed for the ETO. We docked in Scotland on June 5. After spending the night on board, we were having breakfast when the announcement came over the ship’s speaker system that the Allies had invaded the Continent. We later were assigned to the 93rd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. I flew my first mission on July 5, and my 35th and last mission on Nov. 4, 1944. I finished my career as a B-24 flight instructor.”
— Leon F. Bernard, Army Air Force, 2nd lieutenant

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“I was in the Philippines, preparing to go on a mission, It lasted three hours. After the war was over, we flew over to Japan and saw a Japanese plane over us. Our pilot told us, 'Don’t fire at him unless he fires first.’ The other plane left the area.”
— Phillip Allen Browning, Army Air Force, sergeant

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“Landed around 9:30 a.m. on Omaha Beach … with the Big Red 1 ( 1st Infantry Division) and proceeded inland from there. … I often thought that perhaps some of the young soldiers who were killed on Omaha Beach could have discovered the cure for cancer, diabetes or some other currently incurable disease.”
— John A Cocklereece, private first class with the 606 Graves Registration Company

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“Landed in England in July 1942, took training at British communication schools. Assigned to 7th Corps, 4th Infantry Division. Landed on Utah Beach with team of seven men at 10:30 a.m. on D-Day. With 4th Division, liberated Paris August 1944. After Battle of Bulge, was stationed in Paris. Returned to U.S. September 1945.”
— Earl E. Colin, Army, tech sergeant

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“I joined the Navy on Dec. 8, 1941. After three weeks of boot camp and two weeks of gunner school, I was put on a merchant ship going to South America. Our job was to defend this merchant ship from enemy attack. We then started running the brutal North Atlantic run. Even though the Navy lost over 700 ships, our crew never suffered any losses. I was stationed in Norfolk on D-Day, and I was transferred out of the Armed Guard to shore duty in the South Pacific.”
— James J. Gailey, U.S. Navy Armed Guard

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“In training at Camp Gruber, Okla. Shipped overseas in December 1944 and entered combat zone at Strasbourg, France, on Dec. 23, 1944. Units of the 42nd liberated Dachau Concentration Camp on April 29, 1945. I was there on the 30th and saw horrors that are still vivid in my memory.”
— William Hervey, Army corporal, 42nd Rainbow Infantry Division, headquarters company, 232nd Infantry

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“I was working on the assembly line overhauling airplane engines. We rebuilt engines for B-17, B-24, P-47 and various other planes.”
— Leonard A. Hill, U.S. Air Force, corporal, stationed at Base 1, Burtonwood, England

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“I was attending the field officer’s course at Fort Monroe, Va. I remember the excitement. I had been battery commander … manning a 6-inch gun battery at Fort Tilden, N.Y.”
— Arthur C. Klages, coast artillery and radar officer, U.S. Army, captain.

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“I was at Camp Breckinridge, Ky., preparing to go overseas. I am eternally grateful for the people who saved my life Dec. 28, 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge. While left for dead in the snow, two soldiers found me. The medic, all the nurses and doctors who worked on me and the chaplain. When I woke up, one of the nurses said, 'Glad you made it, soldier.’ ”
— Sydney LeBrun, U.S. Army, private first class

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“I was in the final phase of radio operator training at Rapid City Army Air Base. Next came crew training at Lincoln, Neb., and overseas by ship in January 1945. Assigned to the 'Bloody’ 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, England. Interesting: I shipped overseas on the liner Aquitania. My brother went overseas on the same ship in late 1942.”
— Al Lochra, U.S. Army Air Force, tech sergeant

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Graduated from OCS Infantry School in December 1943. On D-Day, was still in the States. Assigned July 1944 to 45th Infantry Division based in Italy. Division invaded Southern France in August 1944; wounded January 1945. Discharged Fort Bragg in June 1946.
— John Lusk, Army

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“I landed on Omaha Beach in the first wave, with the 1st Infantry Division. I was in the 2nd Cavalry Recon Squadron. … The plan was for us to do recon work after we got off the beach. It did not work out that way: Because of the hedgerows, it was not conducive to do recon work. … After we broke into open country and Gen. Patton came in during late July, we were transferred to his 3rd Army. I was wounded twice. One was a minor wound on the (Normandy) beach, and the second time was a more serious wound during the 'Battle of the Bulge.’ Hospitals in Paris and England, 'and then I was sent home.’ ”
— Herb McCorkle

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“I was at Maxwell Field, Ala., pre-flight. I went from there to Ellington Field for navigation training … then to Radar School at Victorville, Calif. I was then assigned to a B-29 as a radar-navigator. I was at Hamilton Field, San Francisco, Port of Embarkation, headed for Tinian (Island), but the war ended.”
— Berry Reid

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“Ship’s log shows that on D-Day, I was standing watch on bridge of Rich, commanding ship of tractor group consisting of 16 LSTs, nine rocket ships, plus anti-submarine PTs. LSTs contained U.S. 3rd Marine Corps, initial landing force for attack on Guam.”
— Lathrop Smith, Navy, Pacific Theater, following 1942 college graduation as ensign, assigned to Fletcher class destroyer USS Black as sonar and radar officer.

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“I was stationed in Torquay, southern England. It was a very scary time, with the fleet of landing barges and ships assembling. During the preparations for D-Day, I helped print and distribute the message to each soldier from Gen. Eisenhower to encourage and reassure them that they were well-prepared for what was coming.”
— George S. Stentz Sr., U.S. Army, 358th Engineer Headquarters Company.

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“I was in the Intelligence and Reconnaissance/Regimental Headquarters Company, 79th Infantry Division, ETO. We were living in tents in Manchester, England, when it was announced that the invasion had begun. I landed at Utah Beach/D-Day plus six.”
— Julian Wright, U.S. Army, sergeant

Shared by others

Edgar Grey Edwards, U.S. Navy, S2C, dental technician, “was serving aboard LST 47. The ship was in the third wave of ships that approached Omaha Beach, with two primary missions: First, they delivered the Army tanks, heavy artillery and their crews ashore. Then they converted the empty space to a hospital and received wounded soldiers from the beach. My dad was among the Navy medics that cared for the wounded.” Edwards died Feb. 25, 2005, and is buried in Greensboro.
— submitted by daughter, Sue Edwards Freeman, Charlotte

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Steve Epps, Army paratrooper, landed in the first wave over Normandy on D-Day. He called his return to France on the 50th anniversary of D-Day the “thrill of his life.” Epps died in January.
— provided by U.S. Marine Corps veteran W. Fred Robertson

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John Wesley Simpson joined the Navy at 17 and upon completion of training, was assigned to landing ship tank and sent to France to be in on the landing at Omaha Beach. “He was a pharmacist mate first class … during the horrible landing. Many of his friends died there and are buried in a nearby cemetery. How fortunate he was to survive. At age 59, he passed on.”
— submitted by Rebecca S. Livingood, sister

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Howard L. Gurley, Madison, U.S. Army Air Force major, was in England on D-Day. He did not fly on that day but flew the next day, escorting gliders carrying troops to Normandy. “Just in from the coast, (the gliders) were cut loose from the tow planes and began their descent to the ground. … I watched in horror as I saw gliders crash into each other while trying to land,” he said in an interview. Gurley flew an incredible 141 missions in the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter plane. “We (of the WWII generation) hope and pray that young people today appreciate the supreme sacrifice that so many made back then. They paid the price for the freedom we enjoy today,” he said. Gurley died April 15.
— shared by columnist Ned Harrison

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Charles W. McKenna, Seven Lakes, died Dec. 5, 2003, at 85 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He was a pilot (1st lieutenant) in WWII Army Air Corps. “He flew 68 missions in a B-26 medium bomber from Earls Colne, England; 323 Bomb Group. His 54th mission was D-Day at Utah Beach.”
— submitted by Elea nor Mc­Kenna, his widow

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Elwood Ross Phipps, U.S Army, Pfc., Company C, 44th Combat Engineers, served in Normandy and France. “Captured Dec. 20, 1944, in Luxemburg. Liberated May 8, 1945, by Russians on a farm near the Baltic.” Phipps is deceased.
— submitted by daughter Rebecca Phipps Askew

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Samuel C. Scott, tech sergeant, U.S. Army, 83rd Infantry Division. “On the morning of D-Day, as his ship headed toward the Normandy shore, the ship crashed into another ship, but his unit was rescued, and he landed by LST on the day after D-Day. Once he landed, he was almost always in combat. His unit was involved in the drive on St. Lo and when his lieutenant was shot, he ran the platoon. Several months later, just before the Battle of the Bulge … he was severely wounded and was taken back to hospitals in France.” Scott died on Aug. 4, 2006.
— Submitted by nephew Thomas R. Iseley

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James S. Wall Jr., U.S. Coast Guard, was a motor machinist’s mate 2nd class, attached to the 11th Amphibious Forces. “Their job was to get troops to the shore of Omaha Beach in Normandy and also rescue and recover from the water the wounded as well as the dead. … Dad never talked ... about what he saw that day, except to say that there were ships as far as the eye could see. He also told us that their commander told them (about the men landing on shore) that 'they had to go … but didn’t have to come back.’ That says it all.” Wall died in January 2006.
— submitted by Jamey Wall VanNess, daughter

Contact WWII veteran Ned Harrison at News & Record, P.O. Box 20848, Greensboro, NC 27420, or vetspeak@earthlink.net