(Terry Smith photo/Suburban Journals)

Sixty years ago Chester Schmidt awoke to find himself part of a mission unlike any other.

Nudged out of bed at 3 a.m. June 6, 1944, by the clank of boots and sight of a flashlight, Chester Schmidt figured he was headed out on just another mission.

As part of the 92nd Bomb Group of the Army Air Force, Schmidt was involved in numerous bombing raids over Germany and France during World War II. The early wake-up call was part of the routine—the only advantage being he got to pick his breakfast on mission days.

But when he walked into a room full of soldiers and saw the map pockmarked with missions on the wall, he knew this was a mission unlike any other.

This was D-Day, the day America had been waiting for.

"I didn't know until a couple of hours before we took off," Schmidt said. "But when we knew it was time, a collective gasp went out in the room."

Today the 60th anniversary of the biggest military operation ever staged and lately Schmidt has had memories coursing through his mind, replaying the events that transpired that morning over the beaches of France.

A 20-year-old who hadn't even been in Europe for a month, Schmidt wondered why he had been picked to see battle, why he couldn't stay behind in an office or manning a telephone. But here he was and he had to do his duty.

The targets were gun emplacements on Normandy Beach in France. The bombers needed to take them out so ground forces could stage a march up the beach and get to the Germans.
 

Schmidt was a radio operator and gunner who flew in the B-17 Flying Fortress, a giant bomber that carried ten bombs. The planes would fly in formations of 30, taking their cues from a bombardier who directed them when to let the bombs fly.

Schmidt said he didn't know what to expect upon entering the plane, but he found out while they were flying over the English Channel, getting ready for engagement.

"I saw hundreds of ships in the channel and I couldn't believe what I was seeing," Schmidt said. "You could hear explosions all over the place."

Schmidt's squadron successfully completed its mission without a hitch, turning around and returning to Podington Air Base in England. It was all over so quickly, but so much devastation had already been wrought.

For Schmidt, the battle had no added significance until years later. It wasn't close to the hardest mission he had flown or even the longest. On one mission to Berlin at the end of the war Schmidt sat in a bomber for 9½ hours with no food or drink.

But D-Day would become the mission that stood out in Schmidt's mind because of the massive forces that were employed that day and the importance it had in turning the tide of the war.

"There will never be another D-Day again," Schmidt said. "There is just too much technology today that nobody even has to get close to the battlefield because each missile is guided today. We were right over the fighting and could see everything."

Schmidt was in the military for four years, three months and 19 days before he was discharged, immediately finishing his education at Washington University in St. Louis. He worked at State Farm Insurance in Columbia for 27 years. He now is retired and lives with his wife in Columbia.

He still stays in contact with five of the men who remain out of his 10-man crew and visited the recently-dedicated World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., a couple of months ago.

What stands out more than anything about D-Day to Schmidt was how lucky he was to have stayed alive and be able to tell his story today.

"I just can't believe that I was never severely injured with all the casualties during the war," Schmidt said. "I guess I was one of the lucky ones."