“The boat righted itself and more machine gun bullets bounced off the hull. The coxswain maneuvered a few yards to the right and then did a good job of working the boat between some of the obstacles. In the meantime we saw men apparently drowning in the water next to us and my radio operator, Doyle, panicked. He was carrying a heavy radio on his back and he and Fitzwater, my runner, took off the radio and decided to carry it between them rather than on Doyle’s back. The ramp dropped and we all rushed out into about two or three feet of water and headed for the beach.”

Letters From a Soldier
William M. Kays

That account is by my grandfather, Bill Kays, who took part in the invasion of Normandy 70 years ago today. He was there with the First Engineer Battalion of the Army’s First Infantry Division, which as it turns out, was pretty much at the front line of every major African and European battle of WWII. His specialty was defusing land mines and opening up routes for the Allied soldiers, meaning he and his men were almost always out in front.

His stories are utterly captivating and I feel privledged to still be hearing them first hand. In 2010 he published a book of his WWII stories, letters he wrote home at the time, maps, and photographs, including some of him by Robert Capa, who was there during the briefings and on his landing craft at D-Day (the image at top, as well as many of the other iconic D-Day images)

Read his book if you’re interested:

http://www.amazon.com/Letters-From-Soldier-Memoir-World/dp/1453741321