D-Day Vet

Today for our history lesson we studied about the attack by the allied forces on the beaches of Normandy during WWII. It wasn't until later, when I was looking for this picture, that I noted the irony. June 6, 1944, exactly 67th years ago today, was D-day.

My grandpa Alva E. Sorensen, was only 19 years old when he took part in the largest amphibian attack ever. He ran up the beach with a radio on his back. It was this backpack, I remember him telling us, that saved his life. He was wounded by a piece of metal in his leg. Another soldier came to help him and said "Let's go", but noticed that he couldnt'. He left him to get the medics. Grandpa had to wait 28 hours on the beach without food or water before he was taken to a ship and evacuated to England. By then gangrene had set in which was caused by a piece of cloth that had been impregnated into the wound. The doctors recommended amputation, but Grandpa woudn't sign the nessesary papers so they transfered him to the United States.

At last he was back at the Bushnell General Hospital in Brigham City, Utah, where he fought with his life to save his leg even to the point where he told a Colonel "I won't sign those papers!" which he had been ordered to do.

After six weeks of fighting with an infection he was down 50lbs before they finally changed his medication from penicillin to teramiacine, which seamed to clear things up. On record he had 1156 shots of penicillin, 8 surgeries and spent eleven months at the hospital in bed and then another seven months in therapy at the same hospital.

45 years later, the soldier that had helped him on the beach that day, Donald Blalock from Tennessee, who remembered Alva's name and that he was from Salina, UT tracked grandpa down and called him on the phone. I actually remember when that happened.

I told this story to my children today. They were amazed that he was willing to sacrifice his life like that and of the help of a stranger.

Grandpa always walked with a limp, always cried when he heard the National Anthem and was my greatest example of patriotism. I am so grateful to him and all those who lived and died so selflessly for the cause of freedom.