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Announcement of JW Roundhill as "Special Honoree" at the D-Day at 75 event held on June 6th 2019 in Seattle (Courtesy Britevents Northwest)

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 Omaha Beach, Normandy, France

D-DAY AT 75: June 6 2019

MEMORIAL ROLL OF HONOR LISTING

OUR EVENT HONOREES WERE:

Trooper Louis H BAKER, British 1st Special Air Service

Jack BARDSLEY, Royal Air Force

Private Arthur BAXTER, The Gordon Highlanders

Herbert James BRAMLEY, British Army

PFC Edward (Ted) COLBURN, United States Army

QMS Charles (Alfred) GALLAGHER, British Army

CPO Albert (Bert) HARRIS, Royal Navy

Warrant Officer Thomas S.F. KING, Royal Air Force

Sgt Andrew LAZARUS, US Army Air Force

Kenneth L MORFORD, US Army Airborne

Sgt William READY, United States Army

Cpl Geoffrey ROBINSON, Royal Air Force

Cpl Lesley ROBINSON, British Army

Staff Sgt Joseph W ROUNDHILL, US Air Force*

Lance Cpl Reginald SIMCOX, British Army

Bertha STAPELY, Women's Royal Air Force

Robert WEEKS, United States Army

*Living Honoree and D-Day Operations participant

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Honoring Trooper  Louis H Baker

BACKGROUND

Louis H Baker was born in 1904 and prior to the Second World Wary joined the Somerset Light Infantry. After war broke out ,Louis then went on to join a Winston Churchill inspired "Underground Army" known as "The Auxiliaries"  based in Northumberland. The mission they planned for was the resistance against any occupying German force on the British mainland.

D-DAY STORY

After the chances of invasion reduced, Louis was recruited by the newly formed SAS (Special Air Service) under the command of Lt Col (later Sir) David Stirling. The SAS was the original Special Forces concept in modern military operations. Louis's troop parachuted clandestinely into Normandy on the night of 4th of June 1944. Their mission was to disrupt enemy communications and supply ahead of the landings. The exact area they operated in was near the town of Caen. These actions made Louis and his troop outside the Geneva Convention as far as the Nazis were concerned and capture would have resulted in probable execution.

FOLLOWING D-DAY

During July 1944, Louis's troop were inserted behind enemy lines in the Mayenne area  and reported on German Panzer Grenadier movements. The result of their radio dispatches was the successful RAF bombing and severe disruption to these Grenadier divisions (known as "Operation Haft").  The German unit that was attacked by the RAF on 31st July near Villains,  was part of Das Reich 2nd SS Panzer Division, which only six weeks earlier had massacred the whole village of Oradour Sur Glane, mercilessly killing 642 men , women and children. After the Operation was complete Louis' team  walked by night back to American Lines  His team of seven were then taken to Arromanches, and they were brought back to  Newhaven. Later Louis was involved in the tracking down of Nazi war criminals and their interrogation in Norway. Louis was honorably discharged in 1945 with the word "Exemplary conduct" in his record. After the War, Louis took up the civilian trade of painting and decorating. Louis passed away in 1988.

TAKE A LOOK  at the commemorative tapestry made by Louis and currently on the wall of his Grandson's Home in West Seattle:  The tapestry features the Somerset Light Infantry and SAS. Find links below to some other background documents to Louis's story:

Top Secret D-Day Memo (pdf)

Normandy Military Map 1944 (pdf)

Liberation of Norway Personal Thank You Letter (pdf)

War Crimes Tribunal Guide (pdf)

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