It’s June 6th and a friend of mine on Facebook informed me about one of the first army padres ashore on D-Day. Chaplain Julian Ellenberg was an Anglican priest assigned to the 8th Infantry Regiment of the US Army’s Fourth Division. 8IR claimed the honour of being the first infantry regiment to land from the sea on D-Day, as opposed to the airborne elements already inland.
Ellenberg was awarded the Silver Star for his work with the wounded on Utah Beach while under heavy fire. Read more about him here.
Also today I learned about another US chaplain, a Roman Catholic priest and a Franciscan, who was killed on D-Day while attempting to secure a truce with German forces to arrange for the care of wounded personnel. He served with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division.
His story is told here.
Some years ago, I reported on receiving the eucharist from the communion kit of a Canadian padre, Walter Brown, who was also killed on D-Day. Padre George Alexander Harris, who served with the Canadian Parachute Regiment, was also killed on D-Day.