"And I thought of my home, and my mom, and my dog, and my friends, and then I wondered how in the world this come me to be here in this situation, a young man, realizing that probably I didn't have much chance to live because I knew what was ahead of us there." (Audio Interview, 4:26)

Jesse A. Beazley

[Detail] Jesse A. Beazley, Marseilles, France [1944] War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Army Unit: 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division Service Location: England; France; Luxembourg; Belgium; Holland; Germany; Czechoslovakia; Omaha Beach, France; European Theater Rank: Private First Class Place of Birth: KY

A combat rifleman with the Second Infantry Division, Jesse Beazley was part of the invasion force that took Omaha Beach on June 6th, 1944—D-Day. His transport boat was blown up far from shore and he was thrown into the water; he was forced to discard all his gear except his rifle and gas mask to keep from drowning as he swam in, German bullets hitting the water only inches away. Somehow he survived that day, and the next, and on through the next year—320 days of which were spent in direct contact with the enemy— through the five major European campaigns, all of the way to the end of the war in Europe, though combat infantrymen rarely lasted that long. His division was then selected to be part of the invasion of Japan, but before they could be sent, the atomic bombs were dropped and the war was ended. He was discharged December 28th, 1945.