It was D-Day, and Abe Milkis found himself up to his neck in the war right away. When the boat ramp was dropped off Utah Beach, the 101st Airborne troopers piled out with all their combat gear.
The boat crews didn’t want to get too close, so the soldiers disembarked far from shore. “We had some little guys, we had to carry them. I only went in up to my neck,” said Milkis, who was 5 feet, 111/2 inches tall.
Speaking in a strong, assured voice at his home in Wynnewood last week, Milkis reached across 69 years of history to bring alive the baptism of fire for a 20-year-old soldier from West Philadelphia. “Everybody was very nervous,” he said coolly.
Read it all.
(Phil. Inquirer) As veterans' numbers dwindle, memories of D-Day remain vivid
It was D-Day, and Abe Milkis found himself up to his neck in the war right away. When the boat ramp was dropped off Utah Beach, the 101st Airborne troopers piled out with all their combat gear.
The boat crews didn’t want to get too close, so the soldiers disembarked far from shore. “We had some little guys, we had to carry them. I only went in up to my neck,” said Milkis, who was 5 feet, 111/2 inches tall.
Speaking in a strong, assured voice at his home in Wynnewood last week, Milkis reached across 69 years of history to bring alive the baptism of fire for a 20-year-old soldier from West Philadelphia. “Everybody was very nervous,” he said coolly.
Read it all.