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He is famous as one of the first men off the beach at [[Omaha Beach]]. He served in E Company, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry, under Lieutenant [[John M. Spalding]]. He and his men helped make the breakthrough there on [[D-Day]] possible. His [[platoon]] landed on the Easy Red sector, and made it to the [[seawall]] largely intact, unlike most in the first wave. Instead of attacking up the beach exits, as was planned, he instead helped find and clear a path up the mined bluffs, left of Exit E-1. Once at the top, he attacked the enemy fortifications from the rear, clearing out [[trenches]] and [[pillbox]]es along Exit E-1 and taking prisoners. He was able to interrogate several of the [[Ost battalion]] [[POW]]s because he spoke fluent [[Polish language|Polish]]. Later on D-Day he was involved in actions further inland at [[Colleville-sur-Mer]].
For his actions on D-Day, he was later awarded the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]] and Great Britain's [[Military Medal]]. His company commander later called him "the greatest unsung hero of World War II".
He saw action in five other major battles during WWII with the "Big Red One", including [[Tunisia Campaign|Tunisia]], [[Allied invasion of Sicily|Sicily]], and [[Battle of Hurtgen Forest|Hurtgen]]. He was also awarded the [[Silver Star]] three times.
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