No one knows who I am as I lay in the most respected tomb in the United States. I left my family behind with a kiss to my wife and newborn baby. Pearl Harbor had just been attacked and not a week later I was called out to battle. We were going to war and it was made to be a tough one. We were brothers, saying we were going there together as well as we would leave together. Little did we know that was not the case.
Gunshots were heard constantly and there was a never a quite or peaceful moment in this terrible place. Bombs were being ignited at every corner causing a dusty haze that filled the air. There were many moments that I came close to losing my life, but was always a second ahead of the blowing up buildings and shots fired. I felt lucky that I was able to always escape to safety. A certain angel was protecting over me like an extra shield helping me through this crazy experience. That is, until that last mission I got called for.

It was still dark out when our Captain woke us in a panic. The men and I were ready for just another mission, but little did we know that this was going to be very different. He informed us that we were going to parachute in the middle of the night into a part of France called Normandy. Our mission was to take out the communication lines of the German command while the rest of the allied troops invaded the beaches at Normandy. The Captain told us this was going to be the only way we defeat the Germans. We loaded into our planes and took off at midnight. After a short flight over the English Channel we were flying over enemy territory. Sergeant Hanks looked to all of us men and said, “Check all of your gear because this is going to be the biggest mission of the war.” He then told us the details of this life changing mission. The time arrived when it was time to parachute and two at a time we jumped.

As we floated through the air a sudden eerie feeling came over us because of the calmness in the sky, but as soon as we hit the ground that calm feeling turned to chaos. We all performed exactly the way we were trained during this battle that lasted for hours. Guns were fired until day light broke through the blackened sky. It became clear that our mission was going to be a success and this battle was in our favor.
The next thing I knew I was not fighting in the battle anymore. I was watching from a distance. I saw the members of my platoon as well as the whole American team fighting bravely and efficiently. There was no doubt that this victory was going to be in our hands. That was seventy years ago, but it feels like yesterday. After the war I was brought back to the United States and placed in a tomb at Arlington National Cemetery. I lay in the Tomb of the Unknown. No one knows who we are, but they know what we did and it comforts me that people come to visit me every day. I am not the only one here, but we all represent the same thing.