Hello, Friends!
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| Carter Fisher |
It’s with a heavy heart today that I post this blog. While
it is a sobering reality that we are losing our WWII veterans, it hits even
closer to home when it is someone that you know very well. Today, we found out
that Carter Fisher, a D-Day veteran, passed away yesterday. Not only was Carter
one of the valiant men who participated in the invasion, but he kept the legacy
of the 4,413 men who died on June 6th alive through his commitment
to volunteering and sharing their stories, as well as his own, at the National
D-Day Memorial as a volunteer. Here’s a little bit of his story:
Carter, at age 19, was on board the USS Arkansas as it
took position some 4,000 yards off Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. His job for the invasion was to load shells
for the 12-inch guns onboard the USS Arkansas. He was stationed inside the
turret on Battery One. Shortly after 5:30 a.m., the Arkansas started bombarding
German positions on the coast in preparations for the Allied beach assault.
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| USS Arkansas in 1945 |
Because he was in the turret, Carter did not see much,
but he did hear the blasts of the guns and firing of anti-aircraft artillery. He
recalled two German fighter planes attacking the ship that evening, but both
were shot of the sky. All in all, the USS Arkansas ended June 6, 1944 with no
casualties. If you would like to hear more of Carter’s experience on D-Day,
here is a link to an interview he did a few years ago as a part of our Lunchbox
Lecture series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmlIwHqfWKQ.
The USS Arkansas went on to participate in the
bombardment of Cherbourg and fire in support of the invasion of Southern
France. The USS Arkansas also provided
support for the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Carter left the Navy in 1946
and never talked about the war, even though he had taken part in three major
Allied invasions in southern France and the Pacific.
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| The Necrology Wall at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, VA |
After the National D-Day Memorial opened in 2001, Carter
began volunteering as a tour guide and through that he started sharing his
memories from the war. He once said about his service on D-Day that “I don’t
brag about it, but I’m proud to tell people I served there.” When he gave his
tour of the Memorial, he always made sure that they took special note of the
4,413 names of the Allied soldiers, sailors, and airmen killed on June 6, 1944
on our necrology wall because it’s important to remember every single one of
those men who didn’t come back. Carter wasn’t just a beloved tour guide at the
Memorial, but he was a friend to many staff members and volunteers who remember
him for his sense of humor. Even though he was not at the Memorial as much in
the past few years due to his declining health, it was always great to see him
on June 6th at our anniversary ceremonies. He will be missed
tremendously!
We’ve been fortunate to have our D-Day and WWII veterans
with us for the past 72 years; however, our time with them is quickly coming to
an end. It is important now more than ever to preserve the legacy of these
veterans to share with future generations. Today as I was preparing our
Education Tent for the first field trip of the season while taking in
the news of Carter’s death, I realized that it is our duty to keep his memory,
as well as the thousands of other D-Day veterans’ memories, alive. While I do
this through educational initiatives at the National D-Day Memorial, you can
share the legacy of Carter and all WWII veterans through listening to the
stories of those who are still with us, thanking them for their service, and
sharing those stories for others to hear. It is only through all of us working
together that their legacy is preserved for the next generation!
Until Next Time,
Maggie
Sailor, rest your oar...
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