D-Day witness to share story; veterans honored
Jacob Martincic was shot twice during World War II – once on Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion of 1944 and once while pushing back German troops in Paris.
The first time, he kept fighting. The second time, he was presumed dead. He awoke in a body bag and complained, “I’m hungry,” which startled the two men carrying him to the morgue.
Now 93 years old, the Deemston veteran will be honored along with another local D-Day veteran and two Iraqi war veterans at the “Honor, Hope and Healing” service at Covenant Life Fellowship in Washington.
The free event will begin at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.
Bernard Marie, who witnessed D-Day as a child, will also share his memories from that day in early June.
Marie, 75, now lives in Roanoke, Va., but grew up in Paris. His family relocated to the coastal village of Luc Sur Mer in 1943 because food was scarce in the city.
They were accustomed to taking shelter in their basement after hearing sirens, but could not have anticipated that the largest seaborne invasion in history would be waged less than a mile away.
Marie remembers his grandfather covering his ears and the sheer terror that ensued June 6, 1944.
“We thought we were going to be there, as usual, for about one hour because they were bombing one of the seaports. And of course we stayed 15 hours, close to 16 hours,” Marie said. “I can assure you when you are 5 years old, you remember that. We were afraid we were going to be buried alive under the house.”
One of his earliest memories is of his mother embracing an American soldier, who gave Marie his first piece of chocolate that day.
“I think that day that he got his first taste of chocolate from a GI, I think his heart kind of galvanized toward America,” said church Elder Linus Mayernik, an event organizer. “I really, truly believe that he was changed that day.”
Marie, now a semiretired consultant and substitute teacher, seeks out D-Day veterans and helps give them the long-overdue recognition he feels they deserve. As an officer of the French National Order of Merit, he has helped more than 100 D-Day veterans receive the French Legion of Honor medal.
“War is not nice. It’s awful,” Marie said. “But this one had more value because if we let (the Germans) win, the world would not be what it is today.”
Martincic shares those sentiments that D-Day was a necessary battle to fight. Kathleen Martincic, one of his four children, said her father was prepared to fight to the death – and nearly did.
Due to complications and chaos, Martincic was forced to jump from his boat into high water and swim to shore to fight German troops along Omaha Beach.
“He held his rifle above his head, jumped off the ramp and into water that was over his head,” Kathleen said. “The water was ice cold, but luckily he was tall. He hopped back up again and made it to shore.”
His job in the 16th Infantry was to launch Bangalore torpedoes to blow up the Germans’ barbed wire barrier. When he was shot in the leg, he continued to fight the entire day until his leg started to stiffen. Later, after being shot in the lung in Paris, he was sent to England to recover and continued to fight until the end of the war.
When asked what her father wants others to understand about D-Day and World War II, Kathleen said, “It was something that had to be done because the Germans had to be stopped.”
Organizers of the eighth annual veterans service hope it will grow to not just recognize soldiers, but also provide services to veterans who may be struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder or other problems.
“This goes beyond just a service for us,” said Cindy Speer, an administrator at Covenant Life Fellowship. “We treasure our relationships with these men and women that have sacrificed so much for us.”
In addition to Marie and Martincic, honorees at the event will include:
• The late Russell Crupe Jr., of Avella, a Navy and Army National Guard veteran who served in Iraq. Crupe, who died July 23, 2012, at the age of 32, will be honored by a video tribute. His family will be present.
• John McCabe, of Plum Borough, president and chief executive officer of Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Army veteran who served in Desert Shield/Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
• Michael Vernillo, 95, of Burgettstown, a Bronze Star recipient and Army veteran who served in WWII and the second wave of D-Day at Omaha Beach.
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