Medals didn’t matter on D-Day to soldiers like John Carpenter Raaen, Jr.

“Never occurred to me,” said Raaen, now 103, a Winter Park resident and the only surviving Army Ranger who stormed Omaha Beach in France on June, 6, 1944, in a pivotal battle often regarded as the beginning of the end of World War II. “As a matter of fact, medals didn’t mean a lot to any of us.”

He and thousands of Allied troops who faced fortified German artillery fire hoped just to survive the firefight.

“We didn’t think many of us would be alive June 7,” he said.

About 4,400 Allied troops died in the battle, including 2,500 Americans.

Raaen, whose name is pronounce “ron,” moved to Central Florida after retiring in 1979 at the rank of major general. Among the many recognitions he earned during his 36 years of s

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