A weekly feature from Ocean City Beach Patrol historian Fred Miller:
Seventy years ago, June 6, 1944, at dawn, Allied paratroopers landed behind enemy lines in Normandy. They were the advance guard of a mighty invasion fleet which landed troops at several places along more than 50 miles of the French coast. Operation Overlord, the code name for the invasion, was by far the biggest land, sea, and air operation in military history.
“Former Lifeguard Dies In Invasion; James A. Ryan, 3rd, Killed on D-Day” was the headline in the June 30, 1944 Ocean City Sentinel-Ledger. The article began, “An Ocean City summer resident and former lifeguard gave his life in Europe on D-Day, June 6, it was reported this week.
“He was Private James A. Ryan, 3rd, 19-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. James A. Ryan, Jr., of Philadelphia, who summer here on 34th Street.”
The article continued, “They received word from the War Department that their son, a paratrooper, was killed in action on the first day of the invasion.
“The young man, who had spent his summers here since boyhood was a grandson of Mrs. Ida Ryan, 3501 Central Avenue. His brother, Daniel, is a member of this year’s Beach Patrol.”
The article ended reporting, “The paratrooper was a graduate of West Catholic High School in Philadelphia. His father served overseas in World War I.”
