On D-Day, Setting The Record Straight

(CBS)  On D-Day, American soldiers came to France to save the world.

They did -- but the cost was high: D-Day's fallen, 9,387 men and women in uniform now lying in the American cemetery in Normandy.

As CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann reports, 65 years later, Eric Montgomery has also landed here -- on a mission of his own.

"These men came here and gave all. I just wanted to give a little bit back," said Montgomery.

Montgomery's great-uncle, Amin Isbir, died on Omaha beach.

Video shows Isbir's landing craft, just before he hit the beach. Once ashore, he sought cover behind a truck. But a German shell found him anyway.

Veterans Ed Marriott and Robert Giguere remember the scene. "The shell hit at an angle to where it lifted up the vehicle and turned it over on him," said Marriott.

Giguere recalls, "He was killed instantly right there."

But Isbir's body wasn't found for two days. So all these years, his headstone had it wrong. It said he died on June 8th, not June 6th, D-Day itself. Finally, workers at the cemetery were able to make it right.

Eric Montgomery finally found the proof he needed in the form of Tom Beaty, an Atlanta businessman who liked war stories. In his spare time, he started interviewing aging vets on camera. "The things these people saw are just amazing," said Beaty.

On his website, "Witness to War," Beaty has recorded 200 vets so far.

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For more about "Witness to War" click here.

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Marriott and Giguere landed with Amin Isbar on D-Day, and helped to set his history straight.

"The broader history may or may not be concerned with the death date of one particular individual when so many died and so many were lost. But to the family it means an extraordinary amount," said Beaty.

It does to Eric Montgomery. He spent five years proving family legend was right. A legacy reflected in one headstone -- and shared by so many.

[stealth7usa]

Dear Friends,

This story was about one man that gave his life on D-Day morning. There is no doubt that some may find fault with the verbiage used to open the story, but in the end it wasn't about that. It was about Amin Isbir, my great uncle, and some of what it took to allow the head stone to be changed. Along with my cousin, we spent 5 years working on gathering evidence to warrant the change. The Witness to War project helped establish the fact that he was killed on June 6th. I discovered the interviewers shown in the segment early on but it took another 4 years to lead up to what happened on Ascension Day 2009. I encourage all of you to review the circumstances behind the investigation and read more about the 6th Naval Beach Battalion on my web site and sites linked within at www.soldiersandsailors.us

Having had the privilege to help with the placing of flags for Memorial Day, my cousin and I learned a lot about the cemetery from those who take such pride in caring for those buried in Normandy. Working with 30 other French employees of the cemetery, it took over 5 hours to place 18744 flags, one French, and one U.S. upon each grave overlooking the beach. As casual visitors to places like this, one often forgets that it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to perfection to make the cemetery appear as it does. These people are amazing.

As for the 4 women buried in the cemetery, they are all nurses. 3 were killed in a car crash together and one in a crash of an airplane months after the invasion. Although misleading, the 9378 graves in Normandy are not all from the invasion on June 6th but are as a result of the pre-invasion missions and the battles which took place afterwords. Some of the graves there date prior to the invasion. These were mostly air crews shot down in France long before June 6th. Keep in mind that the cemetery overlooking the beach is the final resting place for many of those buried in smaller cemeteries that dotted the landscape of Normandy. In 1947, these smaller cemeteries were condensed to what is now the one overlooking the beach. At that time, families had a choice to either return the body back to the U.S. or allow their remains to be with other fallen heroes in France.

While we were in Normandy, Jim and I spent time visiting various churchyards near the beaches. Some still have graves of British Airmen killed in action before the invasion. We spent significant time in the British cemetery in Bayeux as well. There we found many graves of British soldiers and airmen along with the graves of Moroccans, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Canadian and even Germans all lying at peace together. We also visited the German cemetery were over 20,000 lie in peace.

So tomorrow is June 6th, 65 years later. Let us remember all those who gave their lives under whatever flag that they held close to their heart as they took their final breath.

I am, respectfully yours, Eric Montgomery

[babooph]

I rarely respond to personals[not why I input]dodged Nam like the rest of them myself,though not for left politics-difference is I do not now turn "chicken hawk" -strength saps in wasted lost wars , much smarter achievements without even sabre rattling.

[cbs_tom]

Stalin and Hitler were two of the same.
Posted by midvale3 at 12:51 PM : Jun 5, 2009

Yes, Stalin killed his millions after the war. Sad thing, most were his own people.

[midvale3]

without the sacrifice of more than 13 million russian soldiers over 3 years there wouldn`t have been a d-day.

please don`t forget their BIG part of the common sacrifice, although the Soviet Union and now Russia is not very popular.
Posted by lehnahund at 8:08 AM : Jun 5, 2009

Stalin and Hitler were two of the same. The lives the USSR lost in WW2 were not to liberate Europe, just ask the countries they "liberated" in Eastern Europe. They were forced into the war early because of Hitlers invasion but they would have happily sat back and watched the war if not for that. Don't forget that Hitler signed a treaty with Stalin before invading Poland to agree to spilt that country and also to give Hitler free reign to invade France.

[midvale3]

1942-1945 as Americans are taught. Having said that, the citizens of Europe will forever be grateful for American help in WWI and WWII. If it weren't for them the World would be a very different place today.
Posted by scyouth at 8:24 AM : Jun 5, 2009

Um, that's 1941 to 1945.

[koko98-2009]

It is one thing to read about D-Day in the history books but to hear from people who were there is something else. My uncle Luis dropped into Normandy with the 101st and as he told it that day was the greatest and the scarriest of his life.

[cbs_tom]

"Teddy Roosevelt offspring demanding to "LEAD" his men in the 1st assault-Little Bush able to sign up to not go to Nam at all-different republicans-different times".
Posted by babooph at 7:30 PM : Jun 4, 2009

Babooph- Have you served your country by military service? Perhaps Bush was inspired to not go to Vietnam by the protesting left.

[cbs_tom]

I'm speechless. What about the huge numbers of British, Canadian, French, Polish and French troops and sailors? How insulting can you get?
Posted by yorkieuk1 at 5:32 AM : Jun 5, 2009
They too came to save the world. However, this story is about an American.

[scyouth]

You give Clinton - I'll give you Rush and Cheney. U got more ??
Posted by parrots7

Also, remember Clinton had a Rhodes scholarship - Cheney et al were just cowards.

[parrots7]

Teddy Roosevelt offspring demanding to "LEAD" his men in the 1st assault-Little Bush able to sign up to not go to Nam at all-different republicans-different times.
Posted by babooph

And don't forget Clinton went to England to escape the draft and potentially Viet Nam.
Posted by searcher911 at 6:17 AM : Jun 5, 2009


You give Clinton - I'll give you Rush and Cheney. U got more ??