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This past week marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasions in Europe during World War II.
On that day in June 1944, the world changed. The allies began the operation to take back Nazi-held Europe and liberate the many under their rule. My grandfathers were in the Army then, too, although they did not take part in the invasion. My grandfather, Joseph Carpini, was in England in June 1944 training and serving as a military policeman. He landed at Omaha Beach about a month or so after D-Day and saw firsthand the destruction and evidence of the great battles that took place in the towns and countryside along the coast of France just weeks earlier. There were many others from our towns and communities, though, who took part in that day.
D-Day is a moment in history that looms larger than life in our national story. On June 6, 1944, the headline of the Steubenville Herald-Star's Extra edition read "Continent Invaded, Allied Forces Make Landings in France," followed by an article written by Wes Gallagher, an AP correspondent. He wrote, "Allied expeditionary force June 6 -- American, British and Canadian troops landed in Northern France this morning, launching the greatest overseas military operation in history with word from their supreme commander, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, that 'we accept nothing but full victory' over the German masters of the continent."
Before the invasion by sea, paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines. On the front page of the paper on June 6, an article read "Veteran Paratroopers Stud Invasion Forces," "American paratroopers -- studded with battle-hardened veterans of the Sicilian and Italian campaigns -- landed behind Hitler's Atlantic wall today to plant the first blow of the long-awaited western front squarely in the enemy's vitals. The Allies' toughest, wiriest men of war cascaded from faintly-moonlit skies in an awesome operation. Twin-engined C-47s -- sisters of America's standard airline flagships -- bore the human cargo across the skies, simultaneously towing troop-laden C G4A gliders to merge in a single sledgehammer blow, paving the way for frontal-assault forces. Armed with weapons from the most primitive to the most modern, the paratroopers' mission was to disrupt and demoralize the Germans' communication inside the Nazis' own lines."
In this assault was Weirton native Pvt. Angelo Canei. Canei had been born in 1922 and attended Weir High, graduating in 1941, according to the West Virginia Veterans Memorial website as managed by West Virginia Archives and History. Angelo joined up in November 1942, receiving his training at Camp Polk, La. He went on to Fort Benning, Ga., where he trained to be a paratrooper. In February 1944, he went overseas and was a member of Company H, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. During D-Day, his unit was directed to parachute into the area around Carentan in Normandy. Angelo was reported missing on June 9, and was later reported to have died as a result of wounds received on June 16, 1944. His remains were first interred near Carentan, but were later returned to Weirton, now at St. Paul's Cemetery in 1948.
On June 6, Lt. Thomas L. Pugh of New Manchester was also in the skies over Normandy. Pugh was a flight officer with the Ninth Air Force Command in England at that time. He was in charge of towing a glider packed with troops on that day. Thomas recalled later that his "ship came through without a nick." Thomas was 23 years old in June 1944. He had joined the service three years prior and was sent to England in November 1942. It was reported that he flew his plane between posts in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.
Another local who flew with the Ninth Air Force on that day was Sgt. Merrill E. Levy. According to the Weirton Steel Employee Bulletin, Levy was a member of the flight crew of one of the "more than 900 troop carrier planes that dropped the first paratroops on the Cherbourg Peninsula."
Levy recounted in the Bulletin that "after we had dropped our paratroopers and supplies and had turned for home, our left engine was hit and was almost instantly enveloped in flames. We were climbing at the time and were somewhere around 2,000 feet when we were told to get out of the plane. I never jumped from a plane in my life, but I sure did learn fast. German patrols were in the immediate area, so I hid in some bushes. A couple of times they came within yards of me. I just hid there and held my breath and prayed. Later, I made my way to a barn where I planned to hide. Imagine my surprise when I found there the crew chief of our plane. We had not been there more than an hour when we saw some German soldiers come toward the barn, and just as we thought our goose was cooked, they went right through the bushes where I had been hiding. The crew chief and I decided the barn was not too good a place to linger in, so we took off and found a good-sized ditch where we hid until we heard the sound of voices, which we ascertained quickly enough were Americans, as we heard a typical American slang expression, but I won't say what it was as I know it could not be put in writing. However, at that time, they were the most welcome words I have ever heard. We jumped out of the ditch and gave ourselves up to a surprised patrol of Yank paratroopers."
All in all, this experience took six days behind enemy lines. Levy had participated in the invasion of Sicily and Italy. For his service he was awarded the Air Medal for meritorious service in aerial flight.
Many of the soldiers who participated in the D-Day invasion did not come from the sky that day, but arrived on the beachheads under intense enemy fire. Growing up, my next-door neighbor, Frank Corso, told me of his role in the invasion. On June 6, he was in the Navy assigned to LST-982. An LST is a Landing Ship Tank designed to land at beach locations with supplies, vehicles and troops during amphibious assaults, such as the D-Day invasion.
According to the book, "The Mighty 982, Normandy to Tokyo, The Story of U.S.S. LST-982," on June 2, the ship was loaded up with British and Canadian troops at Tilbury, England. In the following days, it anchored near Southend-on-Sea where their captain read the now famous letter written by Gen. Dwight Eisenhower that starts, "You are about to embark on the great crusade."
On June 5, the ship joined with thousands of other ships in the convoy on their way to France. As they approached the coast, the skies were filled with shot and shell from both sides, with the constant thumping of guns from ships in the channel. The 982 arrived at Juno Beach at 2 p.m. amid the great invasion. Crew members saw planes shot down, bombs dropped and a packed beach. Firing commenced from the LST into the air that night, and according to the ship's history, it was like a thousand Fourth of July celebrations all at once. Later that night, the ship was targeted by a Stuka dive bomber, but the bomb exploded roughly 50 feet aft of the ship. Luckily, they missed their target.
Of the soldiers who made it to the beach, the going was tough. Another local, Lt. Col. Max G. McCrory distinguished himself that day and due to his actions, was awarded the Silver Star. According to the Weirton Steel Bulletin, McCrory "led advanced elements of the IX Engineer Command ashore on D-Day... and directed his engineer soldiers in the construction of an emergency landing strip within range of enemy artillery and small arms fire. This strip was the first completed on the continent of France and was operational by nightfall of D-Day."
His citation for the Silver Star explained that McCrory, "led his men while under heavy fire with a fearless and undaunted courage which reflects great credit upon himself and the military service. His brilliant supervision of air base construction activities in the face of intense enemy resistance contributed in a large measure to the successful establishment of Ninth Air Force operations on the European Continent." Before the war, Max was assistant gas engineer at Weirton Steel.
On June 6, 1944, when the Herald-Star published its paper letting our area know of the great invasion of France, soldiers from our community were living it in real time. McCrory was busy building a landing strip under intense fire; Corso was onboard an LST, landing soldiers onto the beach; Levy, after surviving an emergency exit from his plane, was hiding behind enemy lines; Pugh was on his way back to England in his airplane; Canei had parachuted into enemy territory where he would later give the ultimate sacrifice for his country; and my grandfather, Joseph Carpini, was training in England, waiting for his opportunity to land in France.
Hopefully, after another 80 years, we will still be commemorating D-Day and its importance in world history, and remembering those from our valley who took part in that day never to be forgotten.
(Zuros is the Hancock County administrator)