The stakes were high and well understood. To Allied Forces - and the Nazis - the success of World War II rode on the outcome of the invasion of northwest Europe on June 6, 1944, better known as D-Day.

Code-named Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy landed more than 150,000 U.S., British and Canadian troops along a 50-mile stretch of coastline in 24 hours. Six divisions assaulted five code-named landing beaches - Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno and Sword. Those who survived that hellish day will never forget what they saw.

The Augusta Chronicle talked to a number of area D-Day veterans. Here are their stories.

Dennis Trudeau: A delay that proved costly
Web-posted 6/6/2004
After jumping out of a C-47 transport at about midnight June 5 in nearly pitch-black darkness, Mr. Trudeau landed shoulder-deep in water in a field flooded by the Germans near Varaville. During the drop, Mr. Trudeau lost a bag that contained most of his equipment, leaving him with only a bandoleer of ammunition for a Sten gun he no longer had, a few grenades and a small knife.
Mr. Trudeau's D-Day experiences (.mp3 format)

Samuel Norris: Danger in the water
Web-posted 6/5/2004
Mr. Norris was part of the first wave of infantrymen to hit the Utah shores. It was his first time in combat. The way he remembers it, the hardest part, and the key to surviving, was getting out of the water.
Mr. Norris' D-Day experiences (.mp3 format)

Bennie Bolgla: 'Everybody had religion that night'
Web-posted 6/5/2004
As part of the 29th Division, 116th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Mr. Bolgla was in the first wave to storm Omaha Beach. His company's mission was to take out enemy pillboxes and eventually gain control of a seaport 20 miles away.
Mr. Bolgla's D-Day experiences (.mp3 format)

James Scoggins: 'The first wave, they were just slaughtered'
Web-posted 6/5/2004
The destroyer USS Meredith sat about a quarter of a mile from Utah Beach during the brunt of the invasion. Mr. Scoggins was in charge of one of the ship's quad 40 mm anti-aircraft guns.
Mr. Scoggins' D-Day experiences (.mp3 format)

C. R. Harbuck: Chow time in the field
Web-posted 6/5/2004
Mr. Harbuck's mechanized armored transport unit waited in the English Channel on a British landing craft as Allied warships pounded the Normandy beaches to take out enemy fortifications.

Dwight Parken: 'The invasion was the key, the crucial key'
Web-posted 6/5/2004
t was about 3 a.m. on June 6 when the Flying Fortress that Mr. Parken was a crew member on taxied up the runway to take off for the flight to the Normandy coast. There were about two dozen B-17s stationed at the Glatton air base near Peterborough, England, and as they lined up for takeoff Mr. Parken was already performing one of his duties that day.
Mr. Parken's D-Day experiences (.mp3 format)

Roderick Turnbull: Journals tell soldier's story
Web-posted 6/5/2004
Talking about his World War II service came hard to Roderick Turnbull.

Charlie Wendt : 'I didn't want to do it, but had to do it'
Web-posted 6/4/2004
Mr. Charlie Wendt served with the 22nd Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. Mr. Wendt, who was among the second wave of U.S. troops who hit Utah Beach on D-Day, earned five medals, including two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart.
Mr. Wendt's D-Day experiences (.mp3 format)

Harry Reynolds: 'You had no time to get nervous'
Web-posted 6/4/2004
On D-Day, Mr. Harry Reynolds served as a soldier in the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. He waded through water up to his nose and was one of the first soldiers to storm Utah Beach.
Mr. Reynolds' D-Day experiences (.mp3 format)

Willis Irvin Jr.: 'We had all prepared ourselves to die'
Web-posted 6/2/2004
Mr. Irvin watched from a troop transport ship two miles out to sea as the first troops on Omaha Beach were cut down by sprays of bullets. He said the distant battle looked like a cloud of smoke.
Mr. Irwin Jr.'s D-Day experiences (.mp3 format)

Albert Lee Nix: 'I have no regrets for what I done, what I seen.'
Web-posted 6/1/2004
Mr. Nix piloted a landing craft carrying the first wave of troops that hit Omaha Beach, but he never felt any more special than those who stayed aboard ship.
Mr. Nix's D-Day experiences (.mp3 format)

Roy Raborn: 'I didn't even get a scratch. I guess I was lucky.'
Web-posted 6/1/2004
As part of the 56th Signal Battalion's radio platoon, Mr. Raborn led a communications team in two amphibious trucks onto the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach.
Mr. Raborn's D-Day experiences (.mp3 format)

Vardia Brewer: 'The Lord was with us. He had to be.'
Web-posted 5/30/2004
Landing Craft Tank 765 was supposed to land on the Dog Green sector of Omaha Beach in the second wave of the invasion, but a strong current that flowed parallel to the coast from west to east caused nearly every flotilla to miss its designated zone.
Mr. Brewer's D-Day experiences (.mp3 format)

Jay Pearlstein: 'It was mass confusion'
Web-posted 5/29/2004
It was about 10:30 a.m. when Mr. Pearlstein's unit hit Utah Beach. The boat's British skipper dropped the ramp, but the first two jeeps that disembarked capsized.
Mr. Pearlstein's D-Day experiences (.mp3 format)