World War II veterans will travel from Dallas to Normandy

In 1944, they came from every corner of America, young men answering their nation’s call. From Minnesota to Missouri, New York to California, they sailed for Europe to begin the long and arduous struggle to free the continent from Nazi oppression.

On May 31, they will travel again — to Dallas.

Following a 1940s-themed send-off — to be attended by Mary Eisenhower, granddaughter of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower — some 60 World War II veterans will depart for France for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

Their stories should leave all Americans humbled with gratitude and awe.

There will be the always-smiling Henry Langrehr, 99. Hours before the beach landings, Langrehr parachuted deep behind enemy lines, famously crashing through the glass roof of a French greenhouse. After weeks of brutal fighting, he was wounded and taken prisoner until he made a daring escape shortly before the end of the conflict.

Also traveling will be Jim Kunkle, 101, from California. A pilot in the Army Air Corps, Kunkle flew his first combat missions over Normandy and dozens over Germany. He was shot down Sept. 16, 1944, near Aachen, the first German city to fall to the Allies. He broke his back and was severely burned.

On board will be Ralph Goldsticker from Missouri, John Connelly of New Jersey and Lester Schrenk from Minnesota. Goldsticker, 102, flew two critical sorties on D-Day, attacking German coastal defenses. Connelly, 99, and Schrenk, 100, began the darkest months of their lives after their planes were shot down and they were taken prisoners. Schrenk, a turret gunner, was ejected over enemy territory in February 1944; Connelly, an aerial gunner, bailed from his aircraft in July 1944.

Conditions inside the prisoner-of-war camps were horrific; the men faced endless beatings and deprivation. Schrenk, who was imprisoned for more than 15 months, remembers the day the men in his camp defiantly sang “God Bless America.” In 2012, he became unlikely friends with the German pilot who shot his plane down.

Joachim Kallist, 97, of Pennsylvania, and Raymond Glasberg, 102, of New York, both arrived in Europe toward the end of the war and shouldered the heartbreaking task of liberating the concentration camps.

Two of the men who will be going, Max Gurney, 102, and Frank Cohn, 98, were born in Germany but fought for the Allies. Gurney, who had moved to the U.S. as a teenager, enlisted after Pearl Harbor. The Army immediately recognized his gift for languages — he spoke six. Soon he was in northern Africa, interrogating German prisoners; by summer 1944, he was gathering intelligence in Italy essential to the liberation of Rome. Cohn’s Jewish family had fled to New York as the Nazis rose. He gathered intelligence in postwar Germany, some of which would allow for the prosecution of high-ranking Nazis for war crimes.

Making the trip will be Robert Shipe, 99, of California, who fought 42 straight days in the Battle of the Ruhr, an unforgiving campaign that allowed the Allies to take control of Germany’s most vital region of military production. That helped usher the European war to a close, and Shipe was soon put on a freighter to the Pacific. He’d been at sea 72 days when victory was declared over Japan.

Vernon Mitchell, 103, of Fort Worth, is preparing to return to a shoreline fraught with emotion. He hit the beaches of Normandy as a gunner with the 2nd Infantry Division. Just a few days later, his unit was ordered to clear the Cerisy Forest. As the American troops advanced, the Germans began a heavy bombardment. Mitchell was wounded, and two of his best friends died by the same exploding shell. He returned to duty just in time to fight the Battle of the Bulge.

“We fought our way through and came out all right,” is his understated description of the war.

This is just a small snapshot of the heroes who will be on an American Airlines charter flight. And it’s not even mentioning the world-class medical crew, the six Medal of Honor recipients from other conflicts, the current cadets from all U.S. military academies. Seat by seat, row by row, it will be a gathering of our nation’s past, present and future.

First Army, the organization I am proud to be a part of today, commanded all American ground and airborne forces on D-Day under the great Gen. Omar Bradley. We count many of these heroes as personal friends, and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what to say to them in France. “Thank you for your service,” seems woefully inadequate.

So, for now, as they prepare for this historic journey, I’ll simply quote the promise Gen. Bradley made to troops before the invasion: “I’ll see you on the beaches!”

Maj. Gen. Ryan is the acting commander of First Army, the historic unit that commanded all ground and airborne forces on D-Day.

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