Sid Edson, a Brooklyn native who was drafted in 1943, visits Omaha Beach on June 4, 2024. He was part of a group of nearly 70 World War II veterans flown to France for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Robert H. Reid/Stars and Stripes)
OMAHA BEACH, France — Sid Edson was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for his role aboard a B-24 bomber on D-Day. He emphatically refuses to be labeled a hero.
“I just did what I was told to do,” he said as he stood on the sand of Omaha Beach.
Edson, 100, said the “hero” label belongs to the nearly 160,000 Allied troops who landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944, including 73,000 Americans.
A estimated 2,501 Americans were killed on D-Day, most of them on Omaha, where German defenders fought back from stone bunkers on bluffs overlooking the flat shore.
Edson was among a group of nearly 70 World War II veterans flown to France for Thursday’s 80th anniversary of the landings.
Joe Ventura, who was a cannoneer in 3rd Infantry Division sent to Europe during World War II as a replacement for those killed in Normandy, visits Omaha Beach on June 4, 2024. He fought in Europe and was in Belgium on V-E Day. (Robert H. Reid/Stars and Stripes)
Bill Wall, who was a radio operator and gunner in B-24s and B-17s with the 453rd Bombardment Command, visits Omaha Beach on June 4, 2024. His plane was grounded for maintenance on D-Day but back in the air June 7. He flew more than 30 combat missions and holds the Distinguished Flying Cross and other medals. (Robert H. Reid/Stars and Stripes)
Fred Taylor, a 101-year-old who flew P-51s with the 52nd Fighter Squadron mostly in the Italian campaign, greets well-wishers at Omaha Beach on June 4, 2024. He was part of a group of nearly 70 World War II veterans flown to France for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Robert H. Reid/Stars and Stripes)
Members of a group of nearly 70 World War II veterans flown to France for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings head for a viewing area at Omaha Beach on June 4, 2024. (Robert H. Reid/Stars and Stripes)
Charles Baldwin, a 102-year-old who was a pilot in the 23rd Fighter Squadron, visits Omaha Beach on June 4, 2024. He was part of a group of nearly 70 World War II veterans flown to France for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Robert H. Reid/Stars and Stripes)
Members of a group of nearly 70 World War II veterans flown to France for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings visit Omaha Beach on June 4, 2024. (Robert H. Reid/Stars and Stripes)
It was a cloudy day at Omaha Beach on June 4, 2024, during a visit by a group of nearly 70 World War II veterans flown to France for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Robert H. Reid/Stars and Stripes)
With the youngest of the estimated 16.4 million Americans who served in that war now approaching 100, this is likely to be the last major D-Day commemoration with large numbers of veterans in attendance.
Edson was a radio operator/gunner assigned to the 491st Bomb Group based in England.
He and his crew were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for destroying the barracks of a German air base to prevent fighter planes from attacking the invasion force.
“Everyone who was on the ground here on D-Day was a hero,” he said while standing on the sandy beach.
He even refused to sit in one of the World War II-style jeeps on display for the ceremonies.
“Somehow that would diminish the memory of the men who died here,” he said.
Edson and the other veterans sat in wheelchairs facing the beach for a brief ceremony.
The faces of many veterans staring out at the English Channel reflected the emotions that their journey has stirred.
A bugler stands on a sandy bluff and plays taps at Omaha Beach on June 4, 2024, during a visit by a group of nearly 70 World War II veterans flown to France for the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Robert H. Reid/Stars and Stripes)
Following speeches by an Army chaplain and David Bellavia, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in the 2004 Battle of Fallujah in Iraq, a bugler stood on a sandy bluff and played “taps.”
Some of the veterans and others wiped their eyes.
