Trending
WHEELING -- Ninety-six year-old Wheeling native and World War II Navy veteran Vincent Kordack -- a Bronze Star recipient for his bravery -- is attending the national 75th D-Day Anniversary Memorial service in Bedford, Virginia, today -- a trip he has been anticipating for a long time.
"This is a big, big deal for him," said his niece, Sandy Russell of St. Clairsville. "He's just really really proud to be a part of this. This is all he has been talking about everyday for the last six months."
Russell believes only two other members from Kordack's battalion from 1944 are still living.
Kordack, who attended McKinley vocational school in Wheeling and West Liberty State College, was 19 years old when he enlisted in the Navy. Russell said her uncle has very vivid memories of helping injured soldiers when he landed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 -- when more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France, during World War II. The cost in lives on D-Day was high, as more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded.
"I always remember growing up that he always talked about how much he loved being in the Navy and serving our country and how much he respected our flag," Russell explained. "He said he saw things that people shouldn't see -- that so much death surrounded him," she added.
Russell said her uncle remembers digging into areas along the beach so they had a place to pull soldiers to safety and treat them for injuries. She said she is extremely proud of him and his service to our country. He now resides in Bedford, New Hampshire, and has looked forward to attending the event with family members for a while.
After serving in France, Kordack also went on to serve in the pacific war campaign and treated people for injuries after the bombing of Hiroshima, according to Russell. Kordack met his wife, Vern, while attending West Liberty State College. They have a son, Vince Kordack Jr., a daughter, Susan Swain, and two grandchildren.
Dedicated on June 6, 2001 by then-president George W. Bush, the National D-Day Memorial was constructed in Bedford, Virginia, in honor of those who died that day, fighting in one of the most significant battles in our nations history, according to the memorial's website. The memorial was constructed in Bedford because proportionally in population, the small community suffered the nation's worst D-Day losses -- as more than 20 soldiers from Bedford paid the ultimate sacrifice in the Normandy campaign. Bedford's population in 1944 was about 3,200.
Recognizing Bedford as emblematic of all communities, large and small, Congress warranted the establishment of the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford for all those who served on that fateful day. The monument receives an average of 60,000 visitors a year and is a profound addition to America's War Memorials.