Veteran looks back on D-Day
Darien resident Frank Valente was just 19 years old when he landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944. At the time he was known as Pfc. Frank Valente and was about to enter a bloody battleground
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Jun 6, 2008, 11:34 PM
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Updated 6,047 days ago
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Darien resident Frank Valente was just 19 years old when he landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944.
At the time he was known as Pfc. Frank Valente and was about to enter a bloody battleground in World War II.
"Well ya know, when you're 19 you don't stop and think about those things," Valente says. "They gave you an order and you did it."
While for some generations D-Day is nothing more than a historical footnote, for those who fought and lived through the day, it is something they will never forget.
"I can't believe it was 64 years today that we were there," says Valente.
Valente admits he doesn't talk much about those days, not even to his own family.
But he says sometimes the memories of D-Day are just as vivid as the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and other medals he still has.
"And every once in a while I have dreams," he says. "I wake up."
"Early this morning had a little thunder and right away I thought it was, oh boy."
To watch an extended interview with Frank Valente, go to Channel 612 on your iO digital cable box and select iO Extra.
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