The American heroes who stormed onto Normandy Beach 81 years ago to free Europe from Nazi tyranny are almost all gone now. Yet their heroism will never be forgotten.

One who was there and survived was Walter D. Ehlers, who lived in Buena Park until his death in 2014. Writing for us in 1997 on the 53rd anniversary of D-Day, he remembered, “My brother had returned from the hospital in Africa. At the embarkation was the last time I saw him. He was killed in the D-Day landings on Omaha Beach.”

He continued, “I went on to receive several decorations including three Purple Hearts and the Medal of Honor. I am a survivor. My brother and many of my close friends paid the supreme sacrifice. Because of them, hundreds of thousands of them, you and I are here today.”

Beginning with his occupation

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