In 2019, Ray and I were fortunate to meet 97 year old veteran Thomas Rice. On June 6, 1944, at age 22, Thomas battled as part of the Airborne Division through DDAY and the battles that followed, including Carentan.
Thomas jumped into Normandy during the 75th Anniversary celebration in 2019.
Thomas passed away this past November 2022 at age 101. We were blessed to meet him On our last visit.
Sadly, our veterans, our heroes, are quickly moving on. An 18 year old in 1944 will be approaching their 98th birthday this coming year. Many veterans have aged to over 100.
From Omaha Beach toward Carentan, and all battle sites in between, they were all heroes.
The stories they tell, and the emotions they bring, to DDAY and what followed will soon be only from recordings, memoirs, newspaper clippings and tales.
We will miss this greatest generation. They changed history with their heroism.
If you meet a WWII veteran, take time to thank them and have a chat!
More DDAY stories to follow.........
