On June 6, 1944, a small terrier-mix was found wet and shivering on deck of a Navy landing craft approaching Omaha Beach. The crew called him Omaha. He went ashore with the unit — running through the surf, through the minefields, into the hedgerows.
Omaha served through Normandy, France, Belgium, and Germany. He was wounded near Aachen and was stitched up by a field medic using fishing line. He died in 1952 at age 14, surrounded by the grandchildren of the men from that landing craft. His dog tag read: OMAHA, 16 JUNE 1944 - 14 FEBRUARY 1952, NORMANDY TO THE RHINE. One old soldier said at his funeral: He didn't know he was on a war. He just knew he was with friends. I wish I had been him.