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“The sand was kicking up about three feet in front of me from machine-gun fire.” - Tsgt. Bill Parker, U.S. Army, Omaha Beach, 1st Wave
William “Bill” Parker was born in November 1924 in Torrance, California. Parker grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As soon as he turned 18, the Army drafted him, but since Bill was still in high school, his father was able to delay his military service until his graduation.
Bill served with the 29th Infantry Division. He was assigned to 3rd Platoon, Company E, 2nd Battalion of the 116th Infantry. Just before 0700 on June 6, 1944, he lept from a landing craft onto the shore of Omaha Beach.
He remembers: “the sand was kicking up about three feet in front of me from machine-gun fire.” Through enemy fire, he made it across the beach to safety where he regrouped with fellow survivors. It wasn’t until the next morning when Bill searched the shores and fallen troops for ammunition that he realized what he had survived.
Maj. Gen. Greg Brady, Commanding General of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, had the honor of speaking in front of American Soldiers, French citizens, and Tsgt. Bill Parker at the Eglise Notre Dame in Hemevez, France on the 78th anniversary of the invasion, June 6, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Maj. Robert Fellingham)
| Date Taken: | 06.06.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.09.2022 16:32 |
| Photo ID: | 7257721 |
| VIRIN: | 220606-A-KM584-607 |
| Resolution: | 5324x3328 |
| Size: | 13.2 MB |
| Location: | NORMANDY, FR |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
This work, 10th AAMDC Commanding General honors community and fallen paratroopers on 78th D-Day anniversary [Image 11 of 11], by LTC Robert Fellingham, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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