After our June 7 broadcast of D-Day Reunion we received many stories from all over the nation. We will continue to add stories as they come in. (Email stories to now@thirteen.org)

Again, we encourage you to do an oral history for the Veterans History Project. We have easy-to-follow instructions from the National Veterans' History Project.

We have received stories from veterans and children of veterans, refugees and children of refugees and those affected on the homefront and abroad. They make for excellent reading.

D-Day Stories — Long Lost Friends — Brothers in Both Theaters — Refugees — Memories of the Philippines — Second Thoughts — Nagasaki — Homefront Heroes — Thanks Again — From the Blitz to 9/11

D-DAY MEMORIES

Letter the President — memories contributed by Dr. David Satre for his Father, Irving.

[This is an email I sent to President Bush about my father last November 2001. He was a WWII Veteran. ]

Dear President Bush:
I am writing to you today because tomorrow, one day before Veterans' Day, my mother, brother, sister, and I will bury the ashes of my father Irving G. Satre who died May 16, 2001, my sister's birthday. He was a World War II soldier who served for four years in Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe.

My father slept with nightmares and night sweats for 50 years until he suffered two heart attacks in 1995. After that he began to talk about the war and especially the horrors he saw that day when he went in the third wave on Omaha Beach in Normandy France. He was a farmer for most of his life. As a friend put it, "We all grew up with this generation of men who defended the country and came back and supported the backbone of our country silently, farming all of those years." Today I wish he was here to ask for his reassurance knowing he had lived through and fought against those who attacked our country and sought to tear down freedom and ultimately our civilization.

When we bury his ashes, I will set aside a portion of those ashes. I promised my mother I would one day travel to the beach at Normandy and scatter the rest of them there. When he died, we asked for part of his memorial contributions be made to the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. I plan to travel there as well for the dedication of that memorial to honor his memory.

My father hated the war but he volunteered for service. I sometimes wonder about his motivation. I don't have to wonder much because I know his generation was made of something special that knew what had to be done and did it. I hope to see that kind of dedication and character rise again today. I think we all have that kind of basic understanding when it comes to our freedom. And I know that most of us would do the same thing.

Another story my father told me about Normandy was as follows (in my father's words): "I was a demolition expert and carried a pack with dynamite that weighed about 70 or 80 pounds. I was just a little guy, about 150 pounds. I had to scamper up the cliff at Omaha Beach and put dynamite in that pillbox where the Germans were shooting at us from. I told these two guys to cover me. When I started up the cliff I looked back over my shoulder and saw them running down the beach. Somehow I didn't get shot and blew that pillbox. When I got back down and got into the trench with them I was so god damn mad I told them I oughtta shoot you right here. They apologized profusely and really thought I would kill them. I just told them to get the hell over there and start shooting at the Germans."

When I asked him what it was like to rush that beach that day, he said.........."All I can remember was bodies floating everywhere, the water was red with blood, and I just shot and shot and counted how many I killed. I didn't stop counting until 100 and I could keep it straight anymore." I don't know if this is Normandy or somewhere else because I didn't think the Germans were that close on the beach. Maybe he was counting those that got shot around him or he was confused and talking about another battle where the enemy was closer.

I am Irving's son now age 42. I am Dr. David Satre.

A tourist speaks to a veteran on Omaha Beach

In 1990 when I was 43, I visited Omaha Beach were I saw these words in a small chapel at the American Cemetery: "Think not only upon their passing. Remember the glory of their spirit."

When I returned to St. Paul, Minn. I met a veteran of D-Day. It was a chance encounter. Even so, I offered to show this friendly man my photos and anticipated some stories about the bravery of June 6, 1944. After a few seconds with my photo album, the nightmarish memories must have surfaced. He bolted from the room and I never saw him again. As a baby boomer, I could look back to "the glory of their spirit." The ex-soldier, however, had other thoughts. He had once been cast into hell--and hell is what remained. This encounter left me stunned with my ignorant insensitivity.
Michaelene St. Paul, MN

Utah Beach: Son Seeks the Silver Star

My father, Hugh Marvin Davenport of Mt. City, TN, at the time of WWII is soon to be age 84 years old. He was part of the Normandy Invasion as part of the infantry landed on Utah Beach. 58 years after the war, he has yet to receive the Silver Star he is due. Also, he was wounded in a jeep accident, but due to it not being reported, he did not receive the Purple Heart. He feels he was let down by his country for many years, and now he states without the documentation for the Silver Star that it not important to him. I feel it is important and so does his family. He states that from the original group of men that he landed with that he is one of the eight who came back. He spoke of a march his unit was on and of the numbers who did not survive. The daughter of one of the men in your program tonight said that her father never discussed the war, and as children they did not ask questions. Neither did mine, and only now have I started to ask questions and I am 52 years old. --B. Lindsey

LONG LOST FRIENDS

Searching for comrades in arms from a Daughter

Hello,

My name is Ginny Chamberlain Simko. My father was a WWII vet. He was in the European Theater. He went from Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, Northern France and Rhineland as a weather meteorologist. Dad died 22 yrs ago when I was 20 years old. Now, how I wish I could hear his personal stories. They must have been fascinating and frightening. Watching programs such as NOW From D-Day.... it lets me know how much history my own father had a part in. My wish now is to find someone one who may have known my dad. His name is ROBERT "BOB" STANLEY CHAMBERLAIN. It's a long shot and getting longer every day as you point out. Also, the war had such a tremendous impact on dad. He seldom spoke about it, but read ALL the books. He read every night before bedtime in his room always on WWII. I know this experience had to have a profound impact on him. I just wish....

So, if you have any suggestions for direction for me to search survivors, please let me know. This is my first attempt and I will find other addresses using the Internet. Thank you for your wonderful shows! --Ginny Simko

Fond Memories from France

I stumbled on Bill Moyers' program by accident and was very moved by it and by the veterans interviewed especially Sgt. Jose Lopez. He reminded me of Joe, also a Mexican American from Texas. I never knew his last name but remember him when he stayed in our house for a few days during the German counteroffensive. He was later killed and his mother wrote to my parents asking that we visit his tomb. I have thought of him and others many many times. Thank you.
--Jacques Collard