The Greatest Generation

It truly was the opportunity of a lifetime. From June 1-8 thanks to an invitation from The Greatest Generations Foundation headquartered in Denver, I accompanied twelve World War II veterans for a visit to Normandy during the 67th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion. For many of these veterans, it was the first time they had been back to Normandy since the June 6, 1944 invasion by the allies.


Tim Davis, CEO of The Greatest Generation Foundation, and Bob Beauprez at an overlook on Pointe du Hoc (Photo Courtesy of John Riedy Photography)

As expected, it was an enormously emotional experience. We crossed the English Channel by ferry from London arriving at dawn with the beaches of Normandy in front of us, creating a visual familiar to the veterans, and a stark so-this-is-where-it-all-happened image for the rest of us.

Malvin Walker was among the first dumped on Omaha beach that morning with the 29th Infantry Division. Joe Scida was operating one of the Higgins boats, the flat bottomed transports with a drawbridge front door navigating through eight foot waves. They spoke of the thundering of the German guns and the relentless shelling overhead from the U.S. and British ships in the Channel, the bullets zinging everywhere, the stench of the smoke, their comrades falling, drowning, screaming, the surf and the sand on the beaches turned red from blood.

Tech Sergeant Don Allen operated a "half track" - an m16 tank with five 50 caliber machine guns. Entering via Omaha beach, Don helped liberate Carentan, one of the first towns to be freed in Normandy, then worked to clear the infamous Normandy hedgerows of German snipers, and fought throughout Europe eventually serving as part of the occupation forces in Berlin.

Bill Colwell lied about his age so he could enlist at 15. On D-Day he parachuted with the 101st Airborne, the "Screaming Eagles," behind enemy lines before dawn and fought valiantly across the continent including Holland, the Netherlands, Rhineland, Belgium, and Central Europe.

Five of the vets were members of bombing groups that provided the critical air support for the infantry on the ground. Four of the five were shot down and taken prisoners by the Germans.

Gerard Rosenthal was born a French Jew. He became a member of the FFI, the French Resistance, and proudly wore his identifying arm band throughout our trip. He served as a guard and eventually became a mortar gunner. Following the war, Rosenthal immigrated to the United States and became an American citizen.

The Navy vet, Joe Scida, that served on the Higgins boat told of the horror of dropping troops on the beach only to see some of them felled almost immediately, of the German shells falling all around them. He shuttled from the transport ships to the beach "I don't know many times" bringing in more American troops and picking up the wounded and captured prisoners of war. Each time praying first for safety, and then in gratitude that they had "made it one more time."

Inland a short distance we stopped at the corner of a small horse pasture surrounded on all four sides by 8-10 foot high dirt walls overgrown with vines and trees – the ancient hedgerows of Normandy. This was the spot where Capt. Walker led his platoon, L Troop, and was ambushed by four German machine guns hidden in the heavy vegetation. Thirty-nine of the 40 men were wounded, 35 fatally. Walker was hit in both legs and both arms. He carried a bible with a small metal plate in his breast pocket. He still has that bible and the steel plate, dented by a fifth bullet that undoubtedly would have taken his life that day. After three months in the hospital, Walker returned to the 29th Infantry and fought in northern Germany.

These are tough men who did the impossible but necessary. They have seen and done more than only a few can even imagine. Yet, when standing on the hallowed ground of Omaha Beach their emotions overwhelmed them. The memories were still fresh, and the tears flowed.

"How did you do it?" We all asked them the same question. They replied, "You just kept moving. We had been trained well, and we knew it was a job that had to be done."

Nearby is the Omaha Beach Cemetery where over 9300 Americans were laid to rest. Most died in the first days of the invasion. All of us looked for possible relatives; the vets said prayers at the grave of their fallen friends.


The Dozen World War II Veterans and friends in front of a German gun bunker (Photo Courtesy of John Riedy Photography)

Utah Beach was equally profound. The now silent monstrous concrete gun bunkers and even remains of the barbed wire and x-framed steel barricades that were part of the German's "Atlantic Wall" are still visible. In the newly opened Utah Beach Museum I saw a B-26 Marauder, dubbed the "Widow Maker" since so many of them went down. This was the plane in which my father-in-law flew 60 missions as a tail gunner in the war.

At Pointe du Hoc on June 6 we participated in the 67th Anniversary Memorial of D-Day. The 2nd Ranger Battalion led by Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder scaled those 100 meter vertical rock cliffs on D-Day with Germans firing and dropping grenades on them. With some of those Rangers present at the 40th Anniversary in 1984, Ronald Reagan said the now famous words, "These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. And these are the heroes who helped end a war." It was a fitting tribute to the Rangers and all who served.

Members of Rudder's family were on hand for the ceremony. Seeing those cliffs in person makes the bravery and sacrifice of those Rangers even more remarkable. Dozens of current and past Rangers were present for this ceremony on what is particularly hallowed ground for them. Our twelve Veterans received the recognition and gratitude they deserved and thanks to the efforts of Tim Davis, CEO of The Greatest Generations Foundation, this was the largest group of returning veterans at the ceremony.

We visited numerous towns that had been liberated by the Americans, including Sainte-Mere-Eglise, Carentan, Bayeux, and Grainges. There were so many American flags waving that we had to remind ourselves we were in France, and not in the U.S. on the Fourth of July. The stars-and-stripes were everywhere flying at the same height or even above the French flag.

Every town had monuments with names of fallen soldiers that had given the ultimate sacrifice on that spot. Somber commemorations are still held in these towns every year in gratitude for what the allies did. And, when the national anthems are played – many times by a German military band, interestingly enough – it is the American anthem that is played first.

Our veterans and our great nation are more than respected; they are revered. It was inspiring, and a bit surprising, to see the gratitude and thankfulness still so alive among the French and so many other Europeans present for the anniversary commemoration. Even little children participate in laying wreaths at the various monuments.

To the person, our veterans were modest about what they did. "I was just doing my job." "I didn't do much." "We just did what had to be done." "Sometimes we went for weeks with no news from the outside. We didn't know if we were winning or losing. We just kept doing our part."

The humility from these twelve men was the same that we have all heard from our great veterans many times before. But, for the French and Europeans who had freedom restored because of the sacrifice and courage of these men, they will forever be larger than life heroes.

I left wishing that somehow in America we all shared the same overwhelming sense of pride and gratitude for our veterans and for America as I witnessed throughout the trip. I departed out of Paris on June 8 a day before the rest of the group, with my friend and colleague Steffan Tubbs, co-anchor of Colorado's Morning News on KOA 850-AM radio. On a shuttle train we met a middle-aged man from Wisconsin who asked what we had been doing in France. After a couple of minutes of summarizing and sharing a few of the stories from our veterans, this man seemed shocked at what these men had done and endured. "They really did that? You mean that stuff in Saving Private Ryan was real? It wasn't just Hollywood?" he said. His lack of understanding about our own history and our own people is far too typical.

In America, we do a particularly poor job of educating our children about the great legacy of America's still relatively brief but profoundly important history and the greatness of our people. I spoke with a visiting Englishman on Utah beach who had met a couple of our vets and was in awe. He summed up the sentiment of so many others, "Look, we were getting our asses kicked until these Americans showed up."

These men changed the course of history. Every one of us should stop for a moment and realize that had they not answered the call to serve, had they not been successful, that none of what we have and what we have experienced in our lives would be the same. Not our families, not our careers, not the freedom we enjoy as Americans. We are often reminded to "thank a vet." Do it every chance you get.

***Note: Much more about the trip can be found by going to www.tggf.us, the website of The Greatest Generations Foundation. Six cadets from the United States Air Force Academy were part of the trip and posted great reports daily that contain much more information. Also, Steffan Tubbs broadcast live from Normandy on June 3, 6, and 7. Those broadcasts, including many great interviews with the veterans, can be found on the NewsRadio 850 KOA website.


Bob Beauprez and Bill Colwell after laying a wreath at the memorial in Grainges (Photo Courtesy of John Riedy Photography)