“...we are actors in a great drama, but those men were in one of the greatest dramas, on one of the largest stages in history. They were in a great play and it has all the range of being human - humor and sadness, loneliness and friendship."
Anna Dowdy, aged 13
Introducing our Actors in the Crucible
Captain William M. Kober
A gifted young man from Little Rock, Arkansas, you will learn Bill Kober's story and that is about the highest level of accomplishment and service over his self-interest. He will fall, never more to rise in the early dawn of 29 August 1944.
James D. Quinn
A young man from Ohio who answered the call to duty. He left the comfort of his Ohio home and left friends and family to fight to still the sword of the tyrant and drive him from the land.
Great friendship were formed in the crucible of war.
He was a trained infantryman that served as a radioman for a battalion commander within the 22d Infantry Regiment, one of three infantry regiments of the storied 4th Infantry Division - "The Ivy Division" that landed on Utah Beach.
J.E.Chappell
"The English Channel We crossed the English Channel a little after midnight. The four of us tanks were on two LST's. We arrived at Utah Beach about daybreak. We were dropped off in about six feet of water and ordered to crawl ashore. All I could see through my periscope were the waves splashing on my viewfinder. I was so scared, and shaking so bad, I had to hold my knee steady with my hands to kee
June 8 - Normandy - "We received orders to move inland and cut hedgerows. Hedgerows surrounded the fields and troops couldn't get through them. Artillery was zeroed in on all the crossroads, so the troops couldn't use them until the artillery was immobilized. We had our work cut out for us. Our tank dozer proved very useful for other heavy-duty jobs too."
June-July 1944 - "No more hedgerows to cut so used tank dozer to repair roads and rebuild bridges. Tank declared obsolete, sent near Paris to turn in equipment. Because of my demolition skills I was sent back to Cherbourg to de-active mine fields."
Herb Stratton Sr.
A 28 year and 27 day old member of the soon to be storied 29th Infantry Division - "The Blue and the Grey" - when he landed on Omaha Beach. He was a First Sergeant from Cordele, GA. Isn't if funny how one remembers the particulars - "28 years and 27 days old on 6 June 1944.
A security guard in later life at the John F. Kennedy Space Center, FL. He was there at the beginning of the "space age".
On the most famous of the troop transports, the Queen Mary. What an adventure for a young man from Georgia.