In June 1944 Gerald Marsh, then an 18-year-old private, was wading through the blood-tinged waters of the English Channel onto Utah Beach’a key landing site for the American troops in Normandy.
Marsh, an Ortonville native, was called to duty on July 16, 1943, shipped to Europe in February 1944 and assigned to the Fifth Armored Division. Following the June 6, 1944 Allied invasion of France, Marsh was part of the first American troops that liberated Paris and marched into the once Nazi-occupied city.
A few months later, Marsh was wounded by a shell fragment during a morning attack in a small German village. He was treated at a first aid station and returned to action later that day. A few hours later, while riding on a tank engaged in a firefight with German soldiers in a pillbox, a .51 caliber armor-piercing bullet grazed the tank’s armor and passed into Marsh’s body.
He returned to Ortonville after the war, and worked for General Motors for more than 30 years prior to his retirement in 1978.
Marsh, 84, who still lives in Ortonville, was one of 720 veterans asked to participate on May 28 in a photo with the Yankee Lady, a WWII B-17 at the Yankee Air Museum in Willow Run, Mich. The portrait, which will be presented to President Obama, was used to promote an upcoming film featuring Michiganians who fought in WWII.
Keith Famie is producing the film, titled ‘Detroit: Our Greatest Generation,? a 2009 holiday documentary airing on WDIV-TV4 this December. The one-hour, commercial-free film will document the impact the state of Michigan, and Detroit, had during the war, and how Detroit was honored with the nickname, ‘The Arsenal of Democracy.? The film will air at 9 p.m., Dec. 16 and 2 p.m., Dec. 25.
‘When I started working on this project I sent out invitations to VFW or whereever might attract veterans,? said Famie. About 348 responded to the invitation’then 720 veterans showed up for the picture. The response was enormous’that’s when I realized it was perhaps one of the most historical photos taken in recent generations. I had asked all the veterans to hold a picture of when they were young, following their induction into the service.?
Famie said that since this photo was taken in May, four of the veterans have died.
‘My father was a bombardier in a B-17 during WWII,? said Famie. ‘I never took time to get him on tape’so now, when I did all these interviews, I feel I’m with my dad in some ways. Every time I sit and interview one of our WWII veterans, it’s like I’m sitting with my dad.?
Famie said there is no host in the show, and all the veterans tell their own stories.
‘There is no talking head here,? he said ‘It just happens. Some of the stories are very chilling.?