Graham Evans

Pvt. Harry Hudec stood 6'4" tall & was the regimental boxing champion of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 508th PIR, but his greatest fight came during the battle for Normandy. 🥊 On D-Day, Hudec made his first combat jump into Normandy, dropping at 1:30 AM with Headquarters Company. He fought fiercely at Hill 30 between Chef-du-Pont and Picauville. 🪂 On June 15, German hand grenade fragments tore into his leg, severely wounding him.🏥 Crawling to a nearby French farmhouse, Hudec was hidden in the stable by a brave farming family who tended his wounds for four days. When Germans approached, the farmer warned Hudec who hobbled down the road until American forces rescued him. 🇺🇸 After recovering, he jumped again during Operation Market Garden in Holland. 🪂 Later, he endured the brutal winter fighting of the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes. 🪖 During his service, the boxing paratrooper tough earned the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Parachutist Badge with two combat stars, & the Presidential Unit Citation awarded to the 508th PIR for their heroism in Normandy. 🎖️ After the war, Hudec returned home to Cleveland, Ohio, married his sweetheart, Dorothy, raised three children, & enjoyed a 43-year career with the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company. 🔋⚡️ In 2004, for the 60th anniversary of D-Day, Hudec returned to Normandy to personally thank the French family that had saved his life decades earlier. 🇫🇷 Harry Hudec passed away at the age of 85 on March 29, 2007. He is buried at the Memorial Park Cemetery in Sedalia, Pettis County, Missouri. 🪦