D-Day Plus 1, D-Day Plus 2 (D-Day 65th Anniversary): Experiencing War: Veterans History Project (Library of Congress)

Experiencing War (D-Day 65th Anniversary, June 6, 1944 - 2009): Stories from the Veterans History Project

It was military shorthand for the date one landed in Normandy. After the first wave of troops came ashore, thousands and thousands more followed, each man well aware of the sacrifices his comrades had made on June 6. The physical evidence was inescapable, but the sense of mission never diminished, no matter how long afterwards your ship pulled in and you stepped onto French soil.

“Thirty six of us on that [landing craft]. Our first roll call saw seven of us.”

Just because you weren’t part of the immense invasion force which landed on Normandy on June 6, 1944 didn’t ensure your safety. Russell Baldwin was part of a bridge-building battalion that came in shortly after D-Day but still suffered enormous casualties. Baldwin was an older recruit, having already begun a career in his native Cleveland when he was drafted. His maturity served him well when he was briefly captured by the Germans and narrowly escape injury or death on several other occasions.