"I don't know how I made it." (Interview)

Fred Millet

Fred Millet, 1943 [detail] War: World War II, 1939-1946 Branch: Army Unit: 5th Ranger Battalion, 79th Infantry Division Service Location: European Theater; Omaha Beach, Normandy, France; Manchester, England; Camp Blanding, Florida Highest Rank: Technician Five Place of Birth: Tamaqua, PA

Among the most perilous assignments on D-Day were those of Army Rangers like Fred Millet, who were expected to be first and foremost in taking the beaches and scaling the cliffs to take out enemy positions up top. The casualty rates for the Rangers were enormous. By July, when U.S. forces had advanced to St.-Lo, Millet recalls, 80 percent of his company had been replaced. Once General George Patton and his 3rd Army came across the Channel, Millet and his fellow Rangers had a new boss and were on their way toward Berlin.