The 80th anniversary of D-Day was this past Thursday on June 6. According to the United States Army website, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which, “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” General Eisenhower was the supreme commander of the Allied forces for the D-Day invasion, the operation code-named Overlord. D-Day stands for “day.” The term D-Day can identify the start of any military operation. The next day is D+1, then D+2 and so on. On D-Day, June 6, thousands of paratroopers dropped into enemy-held territory in France just after midnight. As aircraft continued bombing targets, naval ships started firing just before 6 a.m., and troops started coming ashore on foot soon after.

More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end, the Allies gained a foot-hold in Continental Europe. The cost in lives on D-Day was high. More than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded. Estimates of German casualties total at least 4,000. The fighting in Normandy continued for about three months as Allied forces pushed the German military eastward and liberated Paris. The operation began the liberation of German-occupied France (and later Europe) from Nazi control, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front.

The photograph featured this week is First Lt. George H. “Sonny” Ehrreich of Marshall, who was killed in action on June 7, 1944. Sonny is one of 67 men we know from Lyon County who were killed in World War II. The photograph is courtesy of his sister Mary Lou Peterson of Marshall. Mary Lou and her family have graciously shared information about Sonny along with photographs of him.

George Hess “Sonny” Ehrreich was born to George Gustav and Mary Elizabeth (Hess) Ehrreich on Jan. 18, 1922, in Pipestone. George Gustav served in the Army during World War I. At the time of World War II, George Gustav went to work on the Canadian Pipe Line. Sonny was the oldest of four children: Sonny, Albert LeRoy “Bud,” Mary Lou Peterson, and John Edward “Jack.” Sonny graduated from Marshall High School in 1939, and he enlisted in the Army Air Force in around March or April of 1942. Bud, two years younger than Sonny, served in the Navy Air Force. Sonny and Bud saw each other only once in California while they were both in the service.

Sonny had the honor of being a pilot in World War II. He was a co-pilot assigned to the 49th Troop Carrier Squadron and saw action in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. Then his group was transferred to England in preparation for the assault on France. He and his partner 1st Lt. Edmond J. Gibala were among the leaders of the second wave of aircraft to drop paratroopers on D-Day. Their aircraft (a Douglas C-47 named “Stand By”) took a direct hit on the right wing but they made it back safely to their home base at RAF Folkingham. The next day, after very little sleep, they were given another plane to drop ammunition and supplies. Due to the bad weather on June 7, many aircraft turned around and headed back. At some point during their route through the English corridor, they too decided to abort the mission and land at a nearby airfield. They crashed on approach to RAF Edgehill, near Oxford. The entire crew of six perished.

Sonny’s brother, Albert LeRoy “Bud” Ehrreich, who served in the Navy Air Force, was home on leave when news was received that Sonny was killed. The following information about how the news was received and how Sonny was killed was written by Mary Lou and shared with me: “While Bud was home on leave and having a home cooked dinner with cake (June 10 was Bud’s birthday), a telegram reached Mom with the news that Sonny had been killed in the D-Day Invasion. In one of his last letters, he begged Mom that if anything happened to him, not to take it out on flying because he loved to fly. He had the honor of being a pilot in the 49th Squadron that spearheaded the invasion. They got their paratroopers over the German lines on the beach and deep into France, but damage to the wing of their aircraft caused the need to change planes for the second day (out of their Folkingham Base in England). The weather was so bad that some units in the formation were ordered to abort. His C47 crashed at Edgehill near Oxford in England”.

Sonny died tragically serving our country during World War II. Remember him and all the men and women who died while serving our country. The Lyon County Historical Society (LCHS) is a non profit, member-supported organization. LCHS operates the Lyon County Museum at 301 West Lyon Street in Marshall. The Lyon County Museum is open year-round to visitors. To contact us, visit our website: www.lyoncomuseum.org, call: 507-537-6580, email: director@lyoncomuseum.org, or on our Facebook page.