My Personal Experience
Being a part of the 2014 Albert Small Normandy Institute was
the best educational experience of my life. I was able to not only learn about
what was the most important operation in history, l was able to see it up close
and personal. I was able to stand where courageous men stood and died. Veterans
have always had a very special place in my heart. I have always loved hearing
their stories, and this program gave me the opportunity to go to the places
where they have spoken of. There is nothing that could come close to the
personal value of this trip.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was delivering my eulogy. This was something that was very very personal to me. I felt like after all of the research l had done on John and being where he was and seeing his grave, that l had a personal connection with him. When l saw his headstone l couldn't help but cry. I felt like l knew him in some way. When l was giving my eulogy l could not contain my tears. How could l ever repay him? He died for my freedom. I feel very strongly that l personally am indebted to John. Giving his eulogy was one of the best experiences of my life. I felt like l was talking to him and that he could hear me. It didn't matter that l was crying because a message was sent that cannot be replaced. So many men died for our freedom and too many people take it for granted. My, and everyone else's eulogies were a step to showing people how these men fought for us. My eulogy was as follows:
What does it mean to be a soldier? To be one who fights for people's safety? For their country? For the benefit of those around him? What does it take to be a soldier? Bravery? Courage? Honor? All of these things are what made up John, all of your silent heroes, and every single person resting eternally in this very cemetery and those all over the world.The act of being a soldier is not an easy one. As l have spoken to and gotten to know many veterans, I have come to slightly grasp-but will never fully understand-what these men went through. When defending your country, there is a tremendous amount of pressure that is put on you, from your commanding officers, civilians, and most of all, yourself. Every single one of the men buried here, everywhere and every single veteran gave everything they had to end a war. I have the upmost respect for every one of them.
John was born and raised in Mahoning Ohio. He was part of activities in his high school such as a play, hallway monitoring, as well as other things. Little did he know that he would be fighting for his country in the Second World War and dying on one of the most important days in history.
John enlisted for the army and volunteered to be a paratrooper. He trained at Camp Mackall and Fort Benning to become a part of the 82nd Airborne’s 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was in the 1st battalion in company c and served his country with his brothers in arms-and died beside many of them.
John fought with the 508th Red Devils around La Fiere. He missed his drop zone and got lost. At his death he was one of about 1500 paratrooper casualties. John was buried temporarily at Blosville on June 15th. However, he now lies in this very grave where he can be honored properly for his service. He gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. John was obviously not the only hero in this war. These men all contributed to not just our liberty, but the freedom of entire countries. I felt a personal connection with John because he had a few of the same interests as myself. When I think about what he did for me and all of these men did, I get choked up. When I see veterans who invaded with these same men, telling stories of their buddies and how they died, I can’t help but be in awe. I will never know and will never understand what they went through to preserve the life of our country. The amount of respect I have for these men is monumental. Keeping a country free takes much more than we all realize. Freedom is not free. People say that quite a lot, but I don’t think the people who hear it are listening. Freedom comes with a price. Look around you. These men were the price. They were made the currency of war and were exchanged accordingly. This is something we can never give back. These men are something we will never get back. With the few we have left, we need to realize what they did for us, because these men here cannot tell us their stories. They truly are silent heroes and we are giving them something they weren’t able to have-a voice. We are their voices. We are their representatives and we can never forget that. John was truly a silent hero-with no living relatives, no dependents, no living trail. I am his voice. I am John’s advocate. We are here today to honor them and we wouldn’t even we here if it weren’t for them-men such as John, who will never be able to share with his grandchildren how he earned a good conduct medal, or how he hated the Germans or how bad the food was. John will never have that. John is laying here and only he knows what he went though.
Veterans are dying every day, but John never got the chance to be a veteran. All men gave some, but these men gave all. Thank you.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was delivering my eulogy. This was something that was very very personal to me. I felt like after all of the research l had done on John and being where he was and seeing his grave, that l had a personal connection with him. When l saw his headstone l couldn't help but cry. I felt like l knew him in some way. When l was giving my eulogy l could not contain my tears. How could l ever repay him? He died for my freedom. I feel very strongly that l personally am indebted to John. Giving his eulogy was one of the best experiences of my life. I felt like l was talking to him and that he could hear me. It didn't matter that l was crying because a message was sent that cannot be replaced. So many men died for our freedom and too many people take it for granted. My, and everyone else's eulogies were a step to showing people how these men fought for us. My eulogy was as follows:
What does it mean to be a soldier? To be one who fights for people's safety? For their country? For the benefit of those around him? What does it take to be a soldier? Bravery? Courage? Honor? All of these things are what made up John, all of your silent heroes, and every single person resting eternally in this very cemetery and those all over the world.The act of being a soldier is not an easy one. As l have spoken to and gotten to know many veterans, I have come to slightly grasp-but will never fully understand-what these men went through. When defending your country, there is a tremendous amount of pressure that is put on you, from your commanding officers, civilians, and most of all, yourself. Every single one of the men buried here, everywhere and every single veteran gave everything they had to end a war. I have the upmost respect for every one of them.
John was born and raised in Mahoning Ohio. He was part of activities in his high school such as a play, hallway monitoring, as well as other things. Little did he know that he would be fighting for his country in the Second World War and dying on one of the most important days in history.
John enlisted for the army and volunteered to be a paratrooper. He trained at Camp Mackall and Fort Benning to become a part of the 82nd Airborne’s 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was in the 1st battalion in company c and served his country with his brothers in arms-and died beside many of them.
John fought with the 508th Red Devils around La Fiere. He missed his drop zone and got lost. At his death he was one of about 1500 paratrooper casualties. John was buried temporarily at Blosville on June 15th. However, he now lies in this very grave where he can be honored properly for his service. He gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. John was obviously not the only hero in this war. These men all contributed to not just our liberty, but the freedom of entire countries. I felt a personal connection with John because he had a few of the same interests as myself. When I think about what he did for me and all of these men did, I get choked up. When I see veterans who invaded with these same men, telling stories of their buddies and how they died, I can’t help but be in awe. I will never know and will never understand what they went through to preserve the life of our country. The amount of respect I have for these men is monumental. Keeping a country free takes much more than we all realize. Freedom is not free. People say that quite a lot, but I don’t think the people who hear it are listening. Freedom comes with a price. Look around you. These men were the price. They were made the currency of war and were exchanged accordingly. This is something we can never give back. These men are something we will never get back. With the few we have left, we need to realize what they did for us, because these men here cannot tell us their stories. They truly are silent heroes and we are giving them something they weren’t able to have-a voice. We are their voices. We are their representatives and we can never forget that. John was truly a silent hero-with no living relatives, no dependents, no living trail. I am his voice. I am John’s advocate. We are here today to honor them and we wouldn’t even we here if it weren’t for them-men such as John, who will never be able to share with his grandchildren how he earned a good conduct medal, or how he hated the Germans or how bad the food was. John will never have that. John is laying here and only he knows what he went though.
Veterans are dying every day, but John never got the chance to be a veteran. All men gave some, but these men gave all. Thank you.