A Look Back
By Fred Miller
Eighty years ago, June 6, 1944, shortly after midnight, 13,000 paratroopers landed behind enemy lines in Normandy. They were the advance guard of a mighty invasion fleet which landed troops at several places along more than 50 miles of the French coast.
Operation Overlord, the code name for the invasion, was the biggest land, sea, and air operation in military history.
“100 Resort Service Men On Invasion Front ” was the headline across the front page of the June 9, 1944, Ocean City Sentinel-Ledger. The article reported: Close to 100 Ocean City men, in every branch of the armed forces, are believed to be directly or indirectly taking part in the invasion of the century.
People were not surprised that so many local men were involved in the invasion because 690 names were listed on the American Legion’s Honor Roll in front of City Hall.
“HITLER’S SEA WALL IS BREACHED” was the headline of the June 7, 1944, New York Times. A picture on the front page showed General Dwight D. Eisenhower talking to the paratroopers the day before they took off. The caption under the picture read: “The Supreme Commander in an intimate chat with some of his men in England prior to their boarding planes for the first assault on France.”
“Former Lifeguard Dies In Invasion; James A. Ryan, 3rd, Killed on D-Day,” was the headline in the June 30, 1944, Ocean City Sentinel-Ledger. The article began, “An Ocean City summer resident and former lifeguard gave his life in Europe on D-Day, June 6, it was reported this week.”
“He was Private James A. Ryan, 3rd, 19-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. James A. Ryan, Jr. of Philadelphia, who summered here at 34th Street.
“They received word from the War Department that their son, a paratrooper, was killed in action on the first day of the invasion.
“The young man, who had spent his summers here since boyhood, was a grandson of Mrs. Ida Ryan, 3501 Central Avenue. His brother, Daniel, is a member of this year’s Beach Patrol.”
At 6 p.m. on June 6, 1944, a large crowd surrounded the lifeguards as they lowered the flag beside the Music Pier. The National Anthem played from the amplifiers attached to the flagpole.
