About the battles in Normandy.
My father landed in Normandy 3 days after D-day. He didn’t talk very much about it. But, when he did, some of his stories were remarkable. In the hedge-row country, he told me this story: They lifted a soldier up to peer over a hedge row. On the other side was a German who immediately fired his MP40. The 9mm bullet struck the American in the helmet and penetrated the steel-pot but deflected off the liner. They lowered the man down and he said the bullet went round and round in his helmet and when it slowed down, it came out the back and creased his neck.
On a more somber note, he said that a Captain led them up a grass hill in France. On top of the hill was a farmhouse. As the soldiers approached, the entire side of the farmhouse dropped down and inside was a German anti-aircraft gun. As it fired, the round streaked past the Captain and struck a small tree behind him, which it split from top to bottom. The Captain, who was never hit by the round, turned and looked at the tree . . . and dropped dead.
