Worth a Read: Novi Man Recalls D-Day Experiences

As first-person narratives of World War II disappear with veterans, The Observer & Eccentric has a story that’s worth a read on the 70th anniversary of D-Day.

The newspaper’s Lonnie Huhman talked with Michael Glagola about his D-Day experiences. Glagola joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 19, thinking it would keep him out of foxholes.

“But I was wrong,” Glagola said. “I ended up spending a lot of time in foxholes.”

He was aboard a ship that was sunk by a mine jsut off the coast of Normandy, France, 70 years ago today. “I was lucky,” he said, emphasizing the final word.

As he reflects on the war and D-Day in particular, many of his memories surround the men he served with.

“They were great men,” he said. “I would have gone to hell and back with them."

The story was also reported in the Detroit Free Press.

Tell Us:

• If you could sit down over coffee with a World War II veteran, what would you like to talk about?