Uploaded December 2013 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
Flying two bombing missions over the beaches at Normandy (France) on D-Day, and five bombing missions in three days on December 23-25, 1944 at the Battle of the Bulge, American pilot Paul Randall was just trying to be a good soldier. He flew 65 missions over Europe in advance of the Allied ground troops piloting his Douglas A-20 Havoc light attack bomber, dubbed "The Duke of Paducah" (Paul is from Paducah, Kentucky). Here is a short excerpt from an hour long interview with Paul Randall who was a member of the 9th (Army) Air Forces, 410th Bombardment Group, and the 644th Bomb Squadron.
From an online newspaper: In 1964, on the 20th anniversary of D-Day, CBS newsman Walter Cronkite – who as a young UPI reporter had landed behind enemy lines that night in a troop-carrying glider – interviewed Eisenhower on Omaha Beach. Gazing at the coastline, the former allied commander and retired president recalled why that mammoth invasion was different from famous battles in ancient history:
“It’s a wonderful thing what those fellows were fighting for and sacrificing for, what they did to preserve our way of life. Not to conquer any territory, not for ambitions of our own. But to make sure that Hitler could not destroy freedom in the world. I think it’s just overwhelming. To think of the lives that were given for that principle, paying a terrible price on this beach alone. But, they did it so the world could be free. It just shows what free men will do rather than be slaves.”
In a column, written on June 12, 1944, correspondent Ernie Pyle said: “I want to tell you what the opening of the second front entailed, so that you can know and appreciate and forever be humbly grateful to those both dead and alive who did it for you.”
#veterans #veteransday #soldier #military #veteran #army #airforce
Flying two bombing missions over the beaches at Normandy (France) on D-Day, and five bombing missions in three days on December 23-25, 1944 at the Battle of the Bulge, American pilot Paul Randall was just trying to be a good soldier. He flew 65 missions over Europe in advance of the Allied ground troops piloting his Douglas A-20 Havoc light attack bomber, dubbed "The Duke of Paducah" (Paul is from Paducah, Kentucky). Here is a short excerpt from an hour long interview with Paul Randall who was a member of the 9th (Army) Air Forces, 410th Bombardment Group, and the 644th Bomb Squadron.
From an online newspaper: In 1964, on the 20th anniversary of D-Day, CBS newsman Walter Cronkite – who as a young UPI reporter had landed behind enemy lines that night in a troop-carrying glider – interviewed Eisenhower on Omaha Beach. Gazing at the coastline, the former allied commander and retired president recalled why that mammoth invasion was different from famous battles in ancient history:
“It’s a wonderful thing what those fellows were fighting for and sacrificing for, what they did to preserve our way of life. Not to conquer any territory, not for ambitions of our own. But to make sure that Hitler could not destroy freedom in the world. I think it’s just overwhelming. To think of the lives that were given for that principle, paying a terrible price on this beach alone. But, they did it so the world could be free. It just shows what free men will do rather than be slaves.”
In a column, written on June 12, 1944, correspondent Ernie Pyle said: “I want to tell you what the opening of the second front entailed, so that you can know and appreciate and forever be humbly grateful to those both dead and alive who did it for you.”
#veterans #veteransday #soldier #military #veteran #army #airforce
