D-DAY VETSAn estimated 156,000 troops landed in Normandy on D-Day in 1944. About 73,000 of them were Americans and 2,499 Americans died that day. Another 1,915 people from other Allied nations died that day.French consulate officials estimated that 7,000 Legion of Honor medals have been awarded to World War II veterans since 2004.Any living American veteran who served in France in 1944-45 is eligible for the Legion of Honor medal. Service members must be able to verify their time with documentation. Contact the French consulate office in Atlanta at 404-495-1660 or email info@consulfrance-atlanta.org to submit applications.Source: Times Free Press archives, D-Day Museum, U.S. National D-Day Memorial Foundation
Other veterans honored with medal:• Joe Thompson, Nashville• Thomas Harris, Spring Hill• Beverly Morris, Hermitage• Gordon Strevel, Knoxville• Samuel “Ray” Fain, Jefferson CitySome past local Legion of Honor recipients:• Reuben Downer, Dade County, Ga., 2011• Charles Coolidge, Signal Mountain, 2006• Charles Wilson, Summerville, Ga., 2009• Charles Sprowl, Dalton, Ga., 2010• James Edward Hill, Elora, Tenn., 2007
On June 6, 1944, Murel Winans received an unwelcome birthday present when he turned 19 — German bullets whizzing by him as he scrambled for cover.
Dodging enemy fire, Winans looked over at a soldier digging in on the beach. When he looked back, the man was still.
“There was a purple spot right there in his forehead. A sniper got him,” he said.