It’s been 75 years since men who had barely reached adulthood landed on a foreign shore to liberate Europe from Nazi control.
On June 6, 1944, Allied forces landed in Normandy, France, at five beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. More than 4,000 Allied troops would be dead by day’s end.
Of the thousands and thousands of men who took part, many were from the local region. In the years since the war, these men have dealt with the trauma of battle in a variety of ways — some rarely spoke of it, some hesitantly shared stories with close friends or family, and others shared their stories so those who weren’t there remember.
And so those who were lost were remembered.
One of those men is Elmer DeLucia of Bradford. A 20-year-old corporal who served as a mortarman with 81st Chemical Mortar Battalion, he was convinced he would make it home. He landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was in Austria — the homeland of Adolph Hitler — when the war in Europe ended.
He came home with a chestful of medals and memories of men who didn’t make it home.
At 95, he still remembers the other members of his mortar crew: Martin Lesard of Maine, Thomas Mann of Illinois, Russell Drennan of Missouri, E.G. Harmon of Mississippi, Milton Levine of the Bronx and John Maricillio of Connecticut.
They all survived the war, but DeLucia is the only one still living.
“I’m very proud to be an American,” said DeLucia, who went on to explain that, despite the
hardships during his military service — which included multiple injuries — he would do it all again. “What a great country we live in here.”
DeLucia still thinks every day about his fellow soldiers who did not make it back from Europe, in particular men who were his close friends: Margarito Frausto of Texas, Lucian Hughes of West Virginia and Warren Knipple of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Locally, Eldred man Joel Gilfert has a website devoted to the history of local men lost at war. Many were killed in the fighting at Normandy.
Private John R. Daly of Kane, a member of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, was killed in action on June 7, 1944, at Normandy. He is buried at the Normandy American Cemetery.
Tech Sgt. Waldo W. Glass of Bradford was killed in action June 12, 1944, when his B-24 crashed on a mission to Rennes, France. He was a member of 705th Bomber Squadron, 446th Bomber Group. He is buried in Brittany American Cemetery in France.
Ships Clerk 3/Class James S. Green of Bradford, a member of the Naval Reserves, was killed in action June 9, 1944, and is buried at Normandy as well.
Private First Class William E. Hauck of Colegrove was killed in action June 17, 1944, and is buried at Normandy.
Private Walter R. Walters of Kane, of Company L, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, was killed in action June 7, 1944, at Normandy. He was 39. He is buried in Clarion County.
