Iraq veteran finds visit to Normandy inspiring
Marlboro resident says invading Allied forces faced daunting task
BY ERIN O. STATTEL
Correspondent

Veterans recall their service on D-Day during ceremonies held to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the Allies' invasion of France during World War II.

The Allied forces established a beachhead from which they launched the invasion of Europe at Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944, a date that will be forever known as D-Day. For U.S. Army Maj. Jeff Cantor, his recent trip to Normandy is one he will most likely never forget.

Cantor, who serves as president of the Marlboro Township Council, is a planning officer with the Army's 353rd Civil Affairs Commis-sion and served a tour of duty in Iraq during the first year of the war. He recently embarked on a journey that led him to one of the most hallowed battlefields in American history. For Cantor, the beaches of Normandy, France, hold much more than just memorials and remaining tanks.

"I have just always had a desire to go there," he said. "There were two aspects to the trip. First, I had to express gratitude, the second was to just try to understand the whole military plan and implementation on that day."

Jeff Cantor

Cantor and a military friend decided to visit Normandy, renting motorcycles and trekking from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to Normandy just in time for D-Day ceremonies that were held on June 6, the 63rd anniversary of the Allied invasion.

Sword, Gold, Juno, Omaha and Utah make up the five beaches of Normandy. All five beaches are home to the memory of those who fought and those who were lost in one of the bloodiest battles of contemporary history.

Cantor recounted story after story that he learned while in the company of World War II veterans who were present at the ceremonies commemorating the D-Day anniversary in Normandy.

"I almost felt like my service was inconsequential in comparison to these gentlemen," Cantor said. "I was just in awe when I met some of them."

Cantor recounted the deployment of Allied forces at Omaha Beach. Soldiers were dropped off landing craft in water that ranged from 5 to 8 feet in depth, and if they managed to avoid drowning on their way to the beach, they then had to crawl across the beach in order to scale a 150-foot climb up a cliff, only to be met with enemy fire from hilltop German bunkers.

Omaha Beach at Normandy, France, is the final resting place for members of the armed services who died during the invasion of Europe on June 6, 1944.

"I give [World War II] veterans so much credit," said Cantor. "How many people would assault a beach like that? They truly are the best generation."

Cantor was witness to many re-enactments by French and American participants.

One particular re-enactment that touched close to home with Cantor was the story of Pvt. John Steele, who was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division. Cantor is also a paratrooper.

Steele was dropped over Sainte-Mere-Eglise, one of the first towns to be liberated from the Germans. Steele landed on a church steeple and remained there for quite some time while under German fire.

Maj. Jeff Cantor stands next to the memorial at Sword Beach, Normandy, France, during his visit to the site of the D-Day invasion.

He survived his mission, despite being captured by the Germans, and is immortalized every year when the French hang a fake paratrooper from the church steeple in his memory.

"These people need to be celebrated," Cantor said of the World War II veterans. "They are true heroes and they won't be around too long."

Cantor recommends that every American should make the trip to Normandy at least once in their lifetime. But if a trip abroad is out of the question, movies such as "The Longest Day" and "Saving Private Ryan" will give an accurate perspective of what happened at Normandy on June 6, 1944.

Cantor, who is running for a seat on the Monmouth County Board of Free-holders, is currently working to preserve the Patterson Army Health Clinic at Fort Monmouth, Eatontown.

When Fort Monmouth closes in several years, the closest military hospitals will be in East Orange, Essex County, and at McGuire Air Force Base or Fort Dix, Burlington County. He said those locations can prove to be too far for veterans who are impaired or without transportation.

"I don't know if most Americans can appreciate what these people did," Cantor reflected. "We can't forget to thank our veterans."