Approximately 60,000 American troops landed on the Normandy coastline during the D-Day invasion. Many of those soldiers' stories will never be known — their acts of heroism lost to history. That was nearly the case for one paratrooper, Capt. William Nation. But thanks to the efforts of a nephew he never knew, Capt. Nation's story is now being made public — 60 years after his courageous landing. “Today” host Matt Lauer has the story.
Growing up, the flickering images of war were all that Bill Nation knew of his uncle and namesake, Capt. William Nation, a paratrooper and amateur filmmaker.
"We watched the movies — probably once a year, at family get-togethers, things like that. But as far as knowing him as a person, I didn't,” says Nation.
It wasn't until Bill's father became terminally ill 10 years ago that he felt the need to learn more. "I realized that if I wanted to know about my uncle, I’d better start asking him questions," says Nation.
Bill already knew the particulars of his uncle's life: how he was drafted in 1941 at age 21 and quickly promoted to the rank of captain after joining the elite 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. What was missing was any knowledge of what his uncle thought and felt throughout the war.
With the help of his father, Bill located a diary and letters — dozens of them — written by his uncle during the war. The letters intimately reveal the dreams, ambitions and sorrows of a young soldier.
Many of Capt. Nation's early letters detail the exhilaration of training. In this letter, from Aug. 1942, he describes his first jump:
Dear Margaret, L.T. and C.Y., "I went up in the airplane for my first time Monday and jumped out. Sounds foolish doesn't it? We didn't start sweating cold sweat until we landed. I can't tell you much about how I felt at the first jump, because I don't remember much. A fellow almost goes hysterical in his mind when he makes the first jump, but always welcomes the opening."
Other letters mirror the images Capt. Nation was faithfully recording in his free time with his movie camera. Like footage taken during training in Washington D.C. is explained in a diary entry from April, 1943:
Got my camera and went into Washington to meet the sweetest girl I’ve seen in a long time. One of those kind that make you feel like ending the war and settling down to better things.
As young Bill read through all of his uncle's letters, he decided to undertake an ambitious project: "I just thought if I enter — if I have to retype all these letters keystroke by keystroke, then when I get through with that I will really have a feel for this man."
Over the course of six months, Bill retyped hundreds of pages of his uncle’s letters. One that stands out vividly recounts Capt. Nation's jump on D-Day. The letter was written June 22, 1944 — 16 days after the invasion of Normandy:
Dear folks,...right after the chute opened and I stopped being jerked about, I looked down and saw the reflection of the moon in water. We were out over a river. I began to tug at the risers to try and slip to land, but I was coming down too fast. I hit water knee deep and fell backwards into it, half shocked, surprised pleasantly and unable to get up, grabbing my knife, [and] I began to cut myself out of the harness and the life jacket.
In his letter, the young paratrooper writes of the chaos that followed:
Just a little before daylight, we were pinned down by machine gun fire and couldn't move on. We had only a small force and had to hold up. From then on, throughout the next day and night, we fought the enemy at several points until we could organize — hell really broke loose that morning in France.— Love, Bill
For Bill, the letter offered some important life-lessons. "Being frightened or scared about things doesn't mean you should not do them. All these guys — and my uncle included — they were scared when they were jumping out of the airplanes, I mean, into combat. But they did it anyway.”
In the days following D-Day, Capt. Nation wrote again to his family this time, revealing the deep personal losses that the D-Day invasion had inflicted. Here’s what he said in a letter dated July 9, 1944:
Dear folks,
...we have gone through some of the worst days of our lives and I hope never to see any like them again — this during the past week. What few remaining old time friends I had are gone.”
— Bill
But Capt. Nation survived and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for bravery. Six months later, the 508th found themselves in Belgium engaged in the Battle of the Bulge. In a letter dated Jan. 19, 1945, one senses the exhaustion that Capt. Nation and his comrades were facing:
Dear folks,I have tried so hard to write letters, but there is nothing much to write about, except the war and I don't like to write about that. I have seen all I want to see of it. It is late and I’ll have to get up at 0630 this am. Goodnight.— Love, Bill
That was Capt. Nation's last letter home. Twelve days later, on Jan. 31, 1945, he was killed by enemy fire. He was 25.
Now to pay honor to his heroism and personal sacrifice, Bill Nation and his wife Maggie have traveled to Normandy, France, retracing Capt. Nation's steps. Bill says, "I want to make sure that he's remembered and his sacrifice. And also the other people who served with him. I want to keep his memory alive the best I can. Because he gave his life for this country and gave everything he had."