HAROLD “Heshie” Steinberg and Homer Goodman had the rare experience of returning to the shores of Normandy, France, June 6, 2009, to celebrate the 65th anniversary of D-Day.
Both had served in the US Army Air Corps — Steinberg when he was 21, Goodman when he was 18.
Steinberg and Goodman belong to The Greatest Generation organization, which works with veterans and arranged and paid for the entire trip.
As the two octogenarians headed for England, Normandy and Paris, their first stop was the Arlington Cemetery in Washington, DC, where they met with other veterans and exchanged war-time stories. Only three veterans came from Colorado.
The veterans were accompanied by 20 college students from the College of the Ozarks.
Eight hours after leaving Washington they found themselves in London which, Steinberg said, was vastly different from the first time he saw it, after graduating from flying school in Dover, Del., where he earned his wings and his commission as a captain.
STEINBERG recalled crossing the Atlantic, in 1944 with 15,000 aboard the ship, dodging German U-boats during the seven-day voyage.
After arriving at Heathrow the group was bused to Thorpe Abbotts in England.
Goodman, a staff sergeant in the US Air Corps, had been stationed at that base flying B-17s (the Flying Fortress). He was a bell turret gunner with many responsibilities. He flew his first mission on D-Day.
Steinberg was a P-47 pilot in the 9th Air Force, 386 squadron, 356th fighter group, commonly known as Hell Hawks. He explains, “Our P-47s could carry as much as two-1000 pound bombs.
“We were the first group to fly a dive bombing mission with that bomb load. Our weapons included eight 50 caliber machine guns and rockets.
“When we first came together as a fighter squadron our mission was to escort the bombers.
“As the months went on we strafed gun emplacments, trains, fuel tanks — places where troops were holding out and many different targets.
“Can you possibly imagine any 21-year-old who could fly a fighter plane loaded with all those weapons and risk enemy air attacks?”
The thought scares Steinberg when he thinks about it 65 years later.
Steinberg relates how from his plane he could see a mass of ships, men in the water and landing barges. All he could think of was to be accurate so the solid German strongholds would be bombed out of commission.
After the first mission was completed he flew back to home base where the next squadron was waiting to take off.
Steinberg’s squadron refueled and waited for its second run.
The second mission was much worse — more destruction and more men in the water. It was so hard to visualize and not good to remember for all these many years, but a day he shall never forget — frightening and emotional is an understatement.
Before Steinberg was through he had completed 87 missions. He won the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with 17 Oak Leaf clusters. Of 36 in his squadron, only seven survived the war.
Staff Sgt. Goodman arrived in England May 30, 1944. He turned 18 on June 4, then flew his first mission on June 6, 1944 — D-Day.
He flew 29.5 missions, including over Moscow, Ukraine, Russia, Norway, Sweden and Berlin.
On his 30th mission over Nazi Germany he parachuted in a strong wind, which separated him from the rest of the crew. He suffered a harrowing, almost unimaginable experience.
Walking and sometimes crawling by day and secreting himself by night it took him weeks to get back to humanity. He lived off the earth, sometimes resorting to worms and other forms of nature.
Goodman was hospitalized in Belgium, Paris and London. His weight dropped from 185 pounds to 90 pounds.
He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, several Oak Leaf clusters and many other medals.
Returning to D-Day, 2009, the two veterans were part of a small ceremony at Thorne Abbotts, England.
Both Steinberg and Goodman spoke to the crowd.
They were then bussed to a ferry at the English Channel and then onto the salient venue at Normandy, the site of the invasions by the Allies in 1944. Omaha Beach played a big role in the fighting and killing.
At Normandy amid a large gathering of American, British, French and Belgium veterans, they were recognized by an appreciative crowd.
French President Sar-kozy, Prince Charles and President Obama delivered messages of gratitude.
Parades, color guards, parachute jumping, fireworks, handshaking and warm greetings highlighted this memorable day.
The group headed to Paris the following day. Steinberg had seen Paris, the Eiffel Tower and other landmarks when his group had been relocated there four weeks after the invasion.
When it was time to leave, the veterans headed back to London via the underground English Channel Chunnel and then back to the states.
Steinberg relates and no doubt Goodman agrees:
“I can’t possibly express all the emotions, sadness, excitment, thanking G-d and the pride I felt for having had this trip and its memories.
“It was the most amazing experience of my life.”
Steinberg is married to Rosetta, his wife of 64 years. Goodman’s wife of 60 years, Mar, is deceased.