JAC Navy Officers Raise D-Day Flags

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  • JIOCEUR Analytic Center
Utah Beach, Normandy France --  JIOCEUR Analytic Center (JAC) Navy Lieutenants Michael Greer and Franklin Huffman were selected to raise the American and French flags over the US Navy Memorial at Utah Beach during the 65th Anniversary of the D-Day landings on 6 June 2009.

Greer, a Navy reservist from Greenville, South Carolina and Huffman, an active duty member from Balls Creek, North Carolina, traveled to Normandy over a four-day leave period to attend the D-Day ceremonies. For the pair, raising the flags on the "Day of Days" was quite an honor.

"It really is very special to both of us to have been allowed such a privilege," said Greer. "We were in our Navy summer dress white uniforms talking to veterans from the US and England when the Director of the Utah Beach Museum asked us to raise the flags. Needless to say, we accepted the opportunity very quickly.

"Spending time with those veterans over the weekend was a thrill for me, although Frank (Huffman) has spent over 30 years since he was a young boy interviewing World War II veterans," he added. "Once the flags were in place, we turned around and there were dozens of people standing in silence and a couple of veterans came up and thanked us for our service, but it was their day and we were honored to help them celebrate their heroic efforts."

Utah Beach was the landing area for the American 4th Infantry Division, whose Deputy Commander was Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., the son of former President Teddy Roosevelt. General Roosevelt had pestered senior Army commanders to be allowed to go in the first wave and the decision proved to be a fortuitous one. Personally conducting a recon of the area, and realizing that the landing craft had drifted a mile south of the objective, he met with his commanders and uttered the famous saying, "We'll start the war from right here!" Roosevelt's leadership efforts on that day earned him the Medal of Honor, but he did not live to receive it, dying of a heart attack in July. Roosevelt was the only general on D-Day to land with the first wave of troops. 

Lt. Greer and Lt. Huffman met numerous veterans over the course of the four days, both American and British, and their stories never cease to amaze. Lt. Huffman said "I've spent the better part of my life reading about World War II and have a Master's Degree in WWII Studies, so it's always a thrill for me to meet the veterans," Huffman stated. "And we'd all better take advantage of the opportunity because they are dying at a rate of over 1100 a day across the US.

"Today it's hard to contemplate an entire world at war, with massive armies fighting each other, thousands of ships and tens of thousands of airplanes in the skies and on the seas. These men, who saved our world, are owed a debt that will never be truly paid," he added. "And don't forget, millions of WWII vets were not high school graduates, including my grandfather (Ninth US Army), who quit school in the seventh grade to work in the cotton fields. They came through the Great Depression and propelled our country from one of the poorest on earth to the most powerful country in the world in sixteen years (1929-1945)."

Lieutenants Greer and Huffman toured the D-Day American landing beaches of Omaha and Utah, along with the British and Canadian beaches of Gold, Juno and Sword. Staying in Sainte Mere Eglise, the pair also met British veterans at Pegasus Bridge.