EDITOR'S NOTE: This article, a version of which was originally published in 2016, recounts local events surrounding the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, during World War II.
The D-Day invasion of France 74 years ago today was the turning point in World War II and the largest seaborne invasion in history, leading to the Allied victory on the Western Front.
The citizens of Hot Springs, like the rest of the country and the world, were glued to any incoming news reports of the ongoing battles in the last-ditch effort to end the war that had already claimed the lives of so many American men and women.
The June 7, 1944, edition of The Sentinel-Record was filled with accounts of the fighting in Europe, but also covered local reactions and related incidents taking place in Hot Springs on that fateful Tuesday.
The hometown newspaper reported that three Arkansas boys who were wounded earlier in combat "on the battlefields of Europe" had arrived that week at the Army and Navy General Hospital in Hot Springs to recuperate.
Cpl. Cortland Harmon, from the farming community of Wiville in Woodruff County, was an Army Ranger who had been awarded both the Silver Star and Purple Heart. The paper noted he enlisted in the Army in 1940 and participated in most of the battles of the campaign in North Africa.
He was caught in crossfire just north of Naples, Italy, and suffered injuries to his back and foot.
Pvt. 1st Class Ralph Shirey, of Camden, had enlisted in the Army in April 1943 and was active in most of the Italian campaign. He fought in the battle of Naples and was at Anzio when he was wounded in the leg by a shell fragment and later awarded a Purple Heart.
Pvt. Theo Phillips, of Flippen, was also wounded in Italy and awarded a Purple Heart. He had been in the Army for 15 months, with the last seven months serving in Europe. He was reportedly fighting south of Cassino, Italy, when he was wounded by shell fragments in his left shoulder and left leg.
The paper noted that all three "appeared in excellent spirits and declared they were glad to be at a hospital back in the country and especially back in Arkansas."
The paper also reported that "Prayers of safety of the men in the Armed Forces during invasion of the European Continent and for the victory of the United Nations were said in all Hot Springs churches this week and will continue in many of them during the entire invasion period."
The first service began at 3:45 a.m. on June 6 with 50 members of Second Baptist Church joined together by their minister, the Rev. W.J. Hinsley. Before 6 a.m., when the service recessed, more than 100 people had gathered in the auditorium of the church for prayers, songs and scripture. The church remained open throughout the day and evening.
First Methodist Church also opened early and remained open until 10 p.m. for members and visitors "to come and go for prayer as desired." It was also noted the Congregation House of Israel with Rabbi Frank Minsker held a special prayer service.
Other churches mentioned were St. Luke's Episcopal Church, First Presbyterian Church, Oaklawn Methodist and First Baptist Church, which all held various services throughout the day.
Another article in the paper heralded the increased need for women volunteers in the war effort.
"With the invasion of the European continent underway, now more than ever before emphasis is placed on the need for enlistment of additional women in the ranks of the Women's Army Corps," Lt. John W. Bradley, head of Air Forces WAC recruiting of Arkansas, declared.
"Although the invasion is reported to be going well, a great deal of brave and costly fighting lies ahead before victory is attained," he said. "And after Germany is forced to her knees, there remains Japan to be defeated.
"We are at the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end as some wishful thinkers would believe. It is no time to lie down and the news should spur us all to work harder to speed us to victory."
Local on 06/06/2018