Nov 10, 2002 By Bill Cahn For The 3 min read

William Salitrik and his wife Luella recently realized their life’s dream by visiting Omaha Beach in France, the site of the famous D-Day battle of World War II. Although their entry upon the beaches of Normandy in October would not have nearly the significance of the American invasion dated June 6, 1944, their trip stands as the culmination of years of planning, saving and hoping.

“My father was at D-Day,” said Salitrik, a resident of Uniontown. “He never once spoke about his service there. I believe most of the soldiers were too traumatized to really speak much about what happened after they came home.”

It was dreadfully foggy and overcast the day the Salitriks visited Omaha Beach.

“Just like it was on June 6, 1944. The Americans would have been sitting ducks if the weather had been sunny and clear, because the Germans would have seen them coming and moved their heavier artillery in to prepare for the invasion,” he said.

Immortalized in the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” D-Day was General Eisenhower’s mission to advance American military troops to Europe, where they would eventually dismantle Adolph Hitler’s German Empire.

“It would have been impossible for the Nazis to be defeated without the Americans somehow landing in Europe, a very difficult task,” said Salitrik.

“It was interesting to see the trickery that Eisenhower used. In order to make Hitler believe they were going to invade somewhere else, Eisenhower placed inflatable tanks about 200 miles northeast of Omaha Beach,” added Salitrik.

Even with the military diversion, thousands of American soldiers died at the battle. The military plan first required 200 Rangers to scale a 100-foot cliff to attempt to attempt to neutralize the heaviest German weaponry. Then came legions of marines in boats, pelted by sniper fire.

Mrs. Salitrik was moved by the sacrifice made by these young soldiers.

“I stood in the middle of the cemetery among 10,000 white crosses and stars of David. I was struck by how blessed we are that so many young men would willingly take a bullet to help free Europe.”

A military veteran, who never had to fight in a war, Salitrik has spent decades studying military history.

“Ever since high school, I’ve been interested in the military,” he said. He has an extensive collection of Civil War and World War II memorabilia. And he has watched all the black and white World War II movies.

What surprised him most was the reddish sand on Omaha Beach.

“You can’t see that on a black and white movie,” he said. “As the tide came in around my ankles and the water mixed with this reddish sand, it reminded me of blood Pools of blood spilled for our freedom.”