The Harrowing Experience of a D-Day Hero
Remembering the 80th anniversary of the Normandy invasion
June 6, 1944. Willard K. Dulaney landed on Utah Beach in Normandy, France during the height of World War II as part of Operation Overlord. It was the largest amphibious invasion in military history, with nearly 160,000 Allied troops landing along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany.
Dulaney was part of a Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) in the second wave of American soldiers that day who waded through knee-deep water onto the shore, carrying a full field pack and a rifle. He recalled seeing “blood and guts and arms and legs, you name it, all over the place”1 as he moved across the beach. From there, he went on to Cherbourg, across the Seine River, then across the Rhine River, and out into the country, where he was wounded.
This American hero was my first cousin three times removed (my great-grandmother’s first cousin). He was born in Floyd County, Virginia on 31 July 1920, to parents Albert and Etta Mae Dulaney. Willard grew up in the White Rock (Carthage) area of the county before moving to Radford, where his father started working at Central Armory Company. That’s when Willard decided to join the military.
On 16 June 1942, Willard K. Dulaney enlisted in the U.S. Army in Richmond, Virginia. His training would take him from Camp Pickett in Virginia to Camp Blanding in Florida, then Camp Forrest in Tennessee, on to Yuma, Arizona, and finally to Camp Phillips in Kansas before he headed overseas.
Standing at 5 foot 8 inches tall and weighing 141 pounds2 at the time of his enlistment, he was paid $22 per month for his service. He could’ve never imagined the price he would end up paying, both physically and mentally, as part of the historic D-Day invasion.
Injured in battle
Suffering from a brain injury as the result of an artillery shell blast, Dulaney was admitted to a hospital in January 1945 and stayed for three months, being discharged in March.3
“They took me back across the Channel and straight through a buzz bombing there knocked me out of the bed in the hospital over there,” recalled Dulaney.
Coping with the trauma of war
In addition to his physical injuries, Dulaney returned home with a host of mental scars as well, including claustrophobia. Alongside his friend Delmer Dodson of Salyersville, Kentucky, the pair were almost buried alive when an artillery shell hit the side of their foxhole. “I’ve had claustrophobia ever since,” Dulaney admitted. “Can’t put me in a close place; I’m going to get out. Don’t hem me up.”
Dulaney’s granddaughter, Laurie, recalls hearing why he never ate chicken again after the war. “They were so hungry, they found some chickens and tossed them in a barrel of boiling water, feathers and all, and they ate them. He never ate chicken after the war. He didn't share too many war stories with us kids as it was painful for him, but for some reason he did tell us that one!”
His nephew Garry shares this memory. “He had a drawer full of tagged new socks as his socks rotted off his feet during the battle in the Black Forrest, he was injured and received the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.”
Dulaney struggled with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and turned to alcohol to cope. He got so drunk his first night home that he was sick for three days. “I don’t know how my wife put up with me—or anybody. I mean, I was almost nuts—I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat…” said Dulaney.
Despite the toll the war took on him, Dulaney was well-loved by his family and lived a long life. He passed on 6 October 2011 at the age of 91.
When asked what others should remember about World War II, Dulaney said, “We saved this country. And that’s one good thing.”
World War II Oral History Interviews
Willard Dulaney was interviewed by Idalina Walker, Joe Klein, and Jaclyn Bradford in 2008 as part of an oral history program in partnership with the Floyd Story Center, Radford University, and Floyd County High School. Learn more about these World War II-era interviews at the Old Church Gallery in Floyd, Virginia.
Floyd Story Center Oral History Archives, Old Church Gallery, Ltd., Floyd, VA
U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
U.S., World War II Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954
Thanks for sharing this remembrance. ⭐⭐⭐⭐