My grandfather, Wilbur C Arrington in 1944
June 6th is the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings on the coast of France. The amazing thing is that the whole operation was kept secret and it was a huge gamble. It was such a gamble that General Eisenhower wrote two letters to announce the landings – one if it was successful and the other one if the landings failed. At least 4,000 allied soldiers died on that day.
My grandpa, Wilbur C. Arrington didn’t arrive in Europe until the fall of 1944 when the Germans had been pushed all the way back to their frontier. Grandpa fought in Company I 397th Infantry Regiment of the 100th Division. He was wounded in an attack on an apple butter factory and got the purple heart medal. Although he brought home some souvenirs, like German money, he rarely talked about his service. He will turn 94 this October.
