Harry Hudec enlisted in the Army on October 24, 1942 at age 20. He served with the 82nd Airborne Division, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Operation Neptune was an important phase of Overlord, the name given to the D-Day invasion. The 82nd Airborne was an integral part of Operation Neptune. The 82nd's mission was to destroy vital German supply ridges and capture causeways leading inland across the flooded areas behind the Normandy beaches where seaborn forces would land to gain control of roads and communications. More than 10,000 All-Americans landed by parachute and glider on June 6, 1944 as part of the greatest airborne assault in History. Heduc jumped into Normandy on D-Day around 1:30 am and fought on HiIl 30 between Chef du Pont and Picauville. On June 15th, he suffered a combat injury and was hidden and cared for by a local family over 4 days until the arrival of German troops. Hudec was hospitalized to remove the hand grenade fragments from his injury. He returned to service an went on to jump into Holland as part of Operation Market Garden and also fought in the Battle of the Bulge. After the war Hudec returned to Cleveland and married, had three children and retired from the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co after 43 years. Courtesy of WW II uncovered.