European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 4, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday june 4, 1994 the stars and stripes Pago 11worst horrors came later for some by Mark Kinkade _. Normandy Bureau Omaha Beach France or. Sidney Krasnoff and or. Tommy Macdonnell remember a Day but they Don t dwell on it. The two men were veterans of the Normandy Campaign. But for them their nightmares came later when the War pushed deeper into Europe and through the Nightmare unleashed by Adolf Hitler s forces. Krasnoff came ashore at Omaha Beach on june 8, two Days after american troops secured the Beach. He said he waded through the blood and body parts caught in the tide As he made his Way to. A Field Hospital on the Bluffs above the Sand. But his strongest memory of the War is from Germany almost one year later when he walked into the Buchenwald concentration Camp and saw the Mound of bodies piled in a mass grave. A a five been around Europe and seen most of the places i went in the War Quot the Pennsylvania born doctor said from the american cemetery above Omaha Beach. A but i won t Cross the Rhine. I wont go Back to  As a Soldier Macdonnel earned the Silver Star five Bronze stars and three purple hearts during combat actions from his Landing at Omaha ass Ken George or. Sidney Krasnoff visiting the american come Teiry at Omaha Beach recalls horrors he saw during the War some even worse than the a Day Battles. In the first wave to the Battle of the bulge. His permanently hobbled left leg and battered left shoulder wont let him forget june 6,1944. But it was May 1945, one Day after the germans surrendered that is like Crystal in his memory. A we freed the russian prisoners in Czechoslovakia a said Macdonnel who is from Missouri a later a German sniper got one of the Guys in my platoon. We were so far cast. Then we gave it away and spent almost 50 years trying to keep the soviets from moving farther West Quot both men said they Are proud to be part of history. In fact Krasnoff said he believes a Day is a defining moment in human history. A a historian said there Are two moments in human history that changed the course of history a Krasnoff said As the wind whipped the Waves below him on Omaha Beach. A one was the Bat tie of Hastings the other was a Day i was part of  Macdonnell remembers the Bullet holes in his uniform and waking up in a Hospital near Omaha Beach after he was wounded and discovering someone stole his pants. Yet he said a Day was just a step for him. A a there a nothing so frightening As being in a pinned Down platoon and seeing a brigade charging at you Quot Macdonnell said about his experiences in combat across Europe. A a that a something you done to forget Quot Macdonnell said. A but it is the courage to fight that defines you not the moment a there were he said Many More moments after  defense fell but farmhouse base still stands by Kevin Dougherty Normandy Bureau Engles Lueville la Percee France a a 250-acre farm near Omaha Beach serves Little notice that it once was the nerve Center for the nazi Effort to fortify the French coast. Commonly known As the Atlantic Wall that defense system figuratively came tumbling Down 50 years ago when the allies landed in Normandy Many historians believe that if Adolf Hitler had heeded Field marshal Erwin Rommel a requests for More support in strengthening Germany a coastal defences in occupied France the Allied invasion May have had a different ending. The nazis confiscated the Lebec Dairy farm and directed construction efforts in the Region from the main farmhouse. Despite Coats of White paint nazi swastikas Are still visible in parts of the House. A people from Here tried to ignore the German said 72-year-old Robert Lebec who took Over the farm after his father died. A but they followed the rules. They had to Germany was occupying the  the rules were simple Lebec said. If you were French you aided the German War Effort. For some folks that meant moving out of their Seaside Homes which were then blown to Smither holy cow bovines saved pm teens to improve the line of sight for German gunners. For others the Aid meant forced labor or at the very least acquiescence to German Rule. With his parents Blessing Lebec fled to Switzerland where he remained until the end of the War. A if i had been in France Quot Lebec said a i would have been obliged to hide or go to work in  the Job of fortifying German defences along the Atlantic Wall fell to Fritz Todt the Engineer who oversaw the development of the autobahn network and later the Westwall on Germany a Western Border. After Todt died in a suspicious air plane crash in 1942, the Job passed to Albert Speer. Hitlers Atlantic Walt stretched along the entire european coast. In France that system consisted of hardened pillboxes and larger gun pm placements which were situated near ports and Seaside resorts. Others were embedded in Cliff sides. The Wall also included Large bloc houses equipped with guns that could be slipped out of sight to escape detection. Itzel Quot Rommel was panic stricken Quot said 76-year-old George a. Itzel a retired . Army lieutenant colonel who was part of the a Day invasion Force. A a a you have to Stop them on the Beach or forget it a he was told Rommel said. Itzell a unit the 147th engr combat in was responsible for handling military supplies that came into Omaha Beach following the Allied invasion. In All about 2.5 million tons of supplies were brought ashore by army engineers in Normandy Itzel  september 1944, the 147th moved from its Beach stronghold to the main House on the la Brec farm. A it was just like moving into your grandmothers Home Itzel said. A a we made it  the unit celebrated thanksgiving on the farm and sponsored a couple of dances that Drew army nurses stationed nearby. Before moving to another town in december to continue its support Mission the unit erected what is now the oldest a Day Monument to fallen . Service members. The simple Gray Stone memorial built in october of that year bears the names of 41 soldiers from the unit who died in the War. The Lebec farmhouse a was a Little cold and Damp like it is today a said Itzel who was a first lieutenant at the time a but it was a godsend after living in a Pup  by Craig Martin Normandy Bureau Utah Beach France a for two soldiers who fought on Utah Beach 50 years ago cows played an important part in saving their lives. A i was with the special forces of the 4th inf div at that time a recalled Art Schreckengost then a 20-year-old private first class tasked with making maps of the area a we came in on the 9th of june after they got All the beaches cleared. A the Beach Here was de mined by cattle a the Lakeland fla., resident said with a laugh. Schreckengost said the engineers herded cattle through the minefield detonating the mines. A White tape marked the area that had been de mined. It was a horrible stench. We thought at first it was bodies getting blown  pfc Robert a Williamson a 19-Vear-old infantryman from new Albany Ohio came ashore on june 8. A we came on the afternoon mostly by marching up the  Williamson and his comrades ran into minefields on the Beach that weren to cleared so they herded cattle to Clear a pathway through. Both soldiers recalled their cow tales while reminiscing at Utah Beach. For them this get together will be their last Hurrah. A they re putting on a big Effort for the patriots Quot Williamson said. A i imagine this will be about the last Hurrah. The Cyl be some Guys coming Back a Little bit to see the Beach but 1 done to think  have another formal thing like  a s4s John Bohman Art Schreckengost foreground and fellow veterans recall How cattle came to the Rescue after a Day on the beaches of Normandy