On the recordJune 3, 2019
This week we recognize the 75th anniversary of D-Day, and we recognize a Mainer who helped to liberate France and then Europe from Nazi control in World War II during the invasion of Normandy. Charles Norman Shay is a Penobscot Tribal elder and a decorated veteran of both World War II and the Korean war. He has received the Bronze Star, the Silver Star, and the Legion of Honor, making him the first Native American in Maine with that distinction. Charles Norman Shay was drafted at 19 and served as a medic in the 16th Infantry Regiment, First Infantry Division. When he landed at Omaha Beach in the first wave, it was his first time in combat. Armed with only his medical supplies, Mr. Shay charged Omaha Beach dozens of times, pulling struggling soldiers from the sea, bandaging wounds, making splints out of pieces of wood, or comforting soldiers through their final moments. Mr. Shay makes a pilgrimage back to Normandy every year to remember his fellow soldiers, and at 94 years old, Mr. Shay is returning for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Mr. Shay is a hero to all Mainers, the Penobscot Nation, and all Americans. Our country is indebted to him. ____________________
