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Episode #577 of Hometown Heroes, airing May 23-26, 2019, brings us closer to the 75th anniversary of the D-Day through the memories of two men who arrived in Normandy in two very different fashions on June 6, 1944. In addition, in honor of Memorial Day weekend, we also learn about one man who never returned from World War II, through the eyes of his nephew, who captures his quest to learn about that Gold Star hero in a new book.

First, you’ll hear the D-Day memories of Oklahoma native E.T. Roberts, who came ashore on Omaha Beach with the 29th Infantry Division on June 6, 1944. You can link to the complete original interview with Mr. Roberts from 2013 here.

More than 800 powerless gliders landed troops behind enemy lines on D-Day, and we’ll also hear from one of those American glider pilots on this episode of Hometown Heroes. Nothing went according to plan when Morris Bennett brought his glider down in France 75 years ago.

You can listen to his complete original interview from 2012 through this link. These two D-Day survivors came very close to adding to the more than 406,000 Americans who were killed while serving in World War II. Each one of those fallen heroes left behind a Gold Star family with a story to tell.
Author Ken Beaton grew up in a Gold Star family. In the final portion of this episode, in honor of Memorial Day weekend, Beaton talks about his journey of discovery described in the new book, A Toddler’s Picture in His Uncle’s Helmet.

The book honors Beaton’s uncle, Richard Daigle, who was killed during the 1st Special Service Force’s daring capture of Monte la Difensa in Italy in December 1943. Daigle carried a photo of his young nephew inside of his helmet. Discovering that photo decades later launched a journey that would eventually carry Beaton to Italy, and also allow him to uncover more details about the heroic uncle he never got to know.