In 1962, Hollywood produced an Oscar-winning dramatization of the event, “The Longest Day.”

However, for one Calhoun County World War II veteran, he lived it.

And survived it.

June 6, 1944.

D-Day.

Daniel Lorie Mixon grew up in Ocilla, Ga., and was graduated from high school in 1941, was drafted by his country on Oct. 13, 1943, and reported to Camp Walters, Texas, as he prepared to become part of what was later called “America’s Greatest Generation.”

“It was 26 weeks of pure hell,” Mixon said. “We would practice for 8-10 hours per day, come back to camp, then walk for 30-35 miles at night. I understand it now. If we didn’t go through it, we’d never had made it.

“We were issued ill-fitting uniforms and socks. It was the socks that helped ease the blisters on our feet.

“We were making $21 a month, of which $6.50 had to be taken out for life insurance.

“We got shipped out of New Jersey in May of ‘44 and wound up in Dover, England.

“There were hundreds of tanks training on the beach with something like an inner tube around them, like a skirt, to hold that tank up.

“June 6, 1944, Eisenhower was the chief Army man ... On June 5th, a big storm came up with waves of 6-8 feet. It was a big decision to make. Do we go or do we not go?” said the clear-minded Mixon. “The word was ‘go.’ The Normandy invasion had begun.”

Mixon recalls the following events.

n The assault

“I was with 115 Company G. There were three regiments which made up the front division of the 29th division.

“The British army was over to the left, trying to get on the beach at the same time.

“Before day on June 6th, the 8th Air Force stationed in England with its B24, B25s-Big Boys had as its job to drop bombs behind Normandy Beach. Thousands of tons were dropped in a short period of time.

“The biggest battle ships with 16-inch guns were firing 240-pound shells.

“We finally got into the English Channel and came down on rope ladders off the ship into a landing craft, mind you, carrying a 150-pound pack on your back.

“Then all hell let loose.

“The Germans knew we were there. ... The sea of hell and fire is what I called it,” he says.

“And when the landing craft hit sand, you had to jump off. If you jumped off and you couldn’t hit beach under you, you drowned.

“You never seen so many dead soldiers in your life, floating in the ocean, legs off, blind, arms missing.

“It was a beach of blood. Blood running down the sand into the water.

“The Germans had barbed wire, fence wire and railroad tracks stuck in the water to catch you and cause you to drown.

“They continued to shoot at us from atop a hill.

n After the assault

“On June 7 or 8, the 29th Division’s primary job was to move out into the orchards of France looking for Germans.

“I remember two paratroopers divisions, the 101 and the 102, where some had fallen into lakes and drowned and some who had landed in trees only to be shot by the Germans.

“On July 7th, me and the 115th were engaged with the German army for three days. We had lost about half of our company.”

“Since it was too dangerous to use phones then, we had runners who would deliver messages between squads.”

According to Mixon, “One runner told me, ‘Soldier, you are going to be picked up by jeep,’ so about 12 of us were carried to an open pasture.

“We were part of the honor guard,” says Mixon, who was then 18.

“In the middle of that circle was Gen. Gehart and Gen. Omar Bradley.

“I heard something coming through the woods and that something was a tank.”

And who was in that shiny tank?

“Gen. George Patton himself!”

Pistols on his side.

“He jumped off the tank in front of us right there in St. Solo, France, and the first words from his mouth (were), ‘I want you to take this G,D. town.’ He was called blood and guts, but I add, hell on wheels.”

Within 5 minutes he was gone.

“July 13 was a hot day in France, just like it is today. We had gone out on scout maneuver the night before. Five or six of us were ‘asked’ to volunteer. G Company was always picked to engage the enemy. I was BAR man with an automatic rifle, which weighed 27 pounds with a bi-pod.

“We had gotten down in a gully. My objective was to find an opening in the apple orchards and put fire on the enemy.”

n Life-changing event

“Approximately 5:30 in the afternoon this old Georgia boy went down, shot by a German sniper with a high-velocity rifle.

“In less than 2 or 3 minutes, two medics were over me and I was carried to a field hospital 3-4 miles away.”

“The next morning, I was awakened with the doctors discussing my condition. One of them was a German doctor who had earlier surrendered.”

They mentioned “wood fragments.”

Mixon was placed on a transport plane with 17 other injured soldiers and then on a Red-Cross train arriving at Braintree, England.

The next morning, five doctors examined the wounded soldier’s leg.

Gangrene had taken over.

Following surgery, Mixon started rehab.

“The 116th took St. Lo. and while we were moving, we ran into the same barrier in Germany’s big rivers as we faced on Omaha Beach.

In April of 1945, while using a bazooka, Mixon took out a German tank and received a Bronze Star for his heroics -- one of 11 medals the soldier would receive.

“I’m proud of my medals, but I think about the dead soldiers that made the path for us to crawl through,” says an emotional Mixon.

“I came home limping in January of 1946.

“When I came home, there was no work for servicemen.

“Everyone farmed.”

(“When I was 13, I worked on a farm for 25 cents per day and was fed.”)

Years later, in 1981, the decorated soldier sought medical assistance from the very country he fought for, was wounded for and cherishes. He ran into obstacles, revolving doors and numerous setbacks.

But as during his military days, Mixon kept on fighting. He received assistance.

Says Daniel Lorie Mixon, “If there are any veterans out there who served on D-Day, I’d like to hear from you.”

“Soldier, your country thanks you.”

You must be logged in to comment.