On D-Day, Bill Ryan was an 18-year old private. He landed on Omaha Beach, in the firt wave, with 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. He was wounded when his landing craft was hit during the landings. Knocked unconscious, his life was saved because two comrades dragged him onto the shore. He lay there throughout D-Day, watching the landings take place, until he and other wounded were evacuated. He later served with the 508th PIR in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge, as well as Korea and Vietnam.
