D-Day and Donald Bennett

As most everyone knows, yesterday was the 70th Anniversary of D-Day. Reflecting on the events of that day reminded me of Donald G. Bennett, my uncle on my Dad's side of the family. Uncle Donald, who passed away in 1988, served in the Army of the United States during World War II. He participated in the North African and Sicilian invasions. He also came ashore at Normandy on the day after D-Day. According to my late father, Uncle Donald was awarded a Purple Heart and either a Bronze Star or a Silver Star during WWII. I started doing some research last night to see if I could find my uncle's Army service record. After around 30 minutes, all I could find was what I believe to be his enlistment record in the online National Archives. As I enter my "golden years," I'm very interested in doing more research on his military record.

Below is the only photo I can find of my Uncle Donald. Yes he's eating a cookie. Pictured with him is my Aunt Marge, my brother and me. Looks like it was taken in 1959!

I've watched this short scene below from "Saving Private Ryan" many times. It's still hard to watch. What makes it more remarkable is that most of these guys were not professional soldiers. They were regular guys who just wanted to get the job done and return home to live a normal life. I can understand why my Dad and uncles never really wanted to talk about it.