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WWII ARMY RANGERS REUNION
October 23, 2009 - 5:29 PM | by: Marianne SilberFor veteran Army Rangers of World War II, the chance to reminisce is priceless, especially since the group is losing many in the ranks with each passing year. This year's Reunion was held at Ft.Benning, Georgia where the journey to become a modern Army Ranger begins.
Many of these highly decorated men, who led the way on D-Day, June 6, 1944, say traveling to reunions is becoming more difficult. Most are in their eighties and nineties, but ask them about volunteering as young men to become elite Rangers, and their eyes light up.
"I was only seventeen when I found myself sitting on a ship waiting for the order to head toward the (Omaha) beach,"said veteran Ranger Bill Reed. Reed and fellow Ranger, Elwood "Woody" Dorman, carried bangalore torpedos on their backs that day. Their mission was to blow a hole in some wire obstacles that led to a machine gun nest of Germans shooting at Americans as they landed on Omaha Beach, causing heavy casualties.
Brigadier General Norman Cota yelled to Reed and Dorman,"Rangers! Lead the way!"
That phrase became the Ranger motto. The duo succeeded, allowing ground troops through to secure higher ground and the Vierville exit, an important part of the mission.
Reed was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 2008. So were many of his comrades.
First Sergeant Len Lomell, and Lieutenant George Kerchner, were among the first to step foot onto the beach below Pointe Du Hoc on D-Day. The one hundred foot cliff overlooked Omaha Beach on one side, and Utah Beach on the other. Their mission, along with other Rangers, led by Colonel James Rudder, was to climb the cliff and destroy several 155mm howitzers capable of hitting Americans landing on the beach below. The men made it to the top of the cliff to find the guns had been moved. Lomell and a few others moved inland, found the guns in an apple orchard, and destroyed them. Their work was credited with saving thousands of lives.
"We did what we had to do, " Lomell says reflecting on the D-Day mission and the fortitude of "The Greatest Generation": a young group of courageous men who carried America's freedom on their shoulders and won.
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