One By One, D-Day Memories Fade Away-- Part 4: Bernard Dargols

Bernard Dargols might have made it back to Normandy this year had he not died in May.  It meant a lot to him.

His story is both unusual and emblematic.  He was born in France, but left Paris in 1938 for New York to learn his father's sewing machine trade.  He watched from afar as the Nazis occupied his homeland.  His Jewish relatives were sent to camps or fled in fear.

Determined to fight back, but skeptical of French gen. Charles de Gaulle's resistance force, he joined the U.S. Army instead.

With the 2nd Infantry Division, Dargols sailed from Britain on June 5 and only made it to Normandy on June 8, after three interminable days on choppy seas.

Then, he landed on Normandy on D-Day +2.

--GreGen