An Emotional Journey for Veterans of “The Longest Day”

Thirty American veterans of World War II have been invited to a ceremony honoring the fallen on June 6^th at the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, which Nicolas Sarkozy and Barack Obama are both attending. Two of the veterans invited to the ceremony are Clyde Combs and Terrell Boyd. Both men fought on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day 65 years ago.

Clyde Combs, who is 85 this year, has yet to write the speech he plans to give during the ceremony in France, but, he says, “It’s all in my head. It will be spontaneous. A message for future generations, so that history never repeats itself.” In 1944, the former sailor and his torpedo boat battalion were charged with protecting the hordes of soldiers disembarking on the Normandy beaches. “We had some pretty tough exchanges with the German boats that day,” Combs recalls.

This week Combs flies to Normandy accompanied by Terrell Boyd, 86, who disembarked with his platoon on Utah Beach on June 6, 1944. “Our battalion clocked more days of combat during the war than any other battalion, and we lost a lot of men,” Boyd says, his voice trembling. [Editor’s note: Boyd participated in the campaigns of Normandy, the North of France, the Ardennes, the Rhine and Central Europe. He received five Bronze Stars.]

For him and for Clyde Combs, it is the memory of their fallen comrades that is the most difficult to bear. “You no doubt noticed that I got choked up a bit,” Boyd apologizes. The veteran was also greatly moved by the letter he received from Pierre Vimont, the French Ambassador to the United States, informing him that he would be receiving the Legion of Honor on June 5^th in Paris, alongside Combs. Mr. Combs has said he will accept the honor on behalf “of all those who sacrificed their lives for liberty, and who were not as lucky as I.” After Combs returned to America in 1944, he attended college on the GI Bill, and majored in engineering before moving to Houston. Terrell Boyd moved home, opened a travel agency and taught geology.

The two veterans have both been back to France twice since June 6, 1944. Mr. Boyd, who now lives in Paris, Texas, says “I was treated with great hospitality by the French when I wore the uniform. They were even nicer when I came back as a civilian!” Mr. Combs has not forgotten the warmth of French civilians nor of members of the French Resistance, who helped him and his fellow soldiers during wartime.

The two men, who will meet for the first time on the flight to France, admit that, during diplomatically tense periods, it has not always been easy to convince their countrymen of the kindness of the French. “Frankly, it is a situation that really frustrates me,” Boyd says.

It’s a safe bet that June 6^th will be all about friendship, sacrifice, and honor. The two men hope they will not be too overwhelmed by emotion when they arrive at the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. Mr. Combs’s wife died last year, but both men will be accompanied by their families, and return to Normandy as true heroes.