Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
7:33 | Daymon Mathis describes "beginning to know what war was" while making his way through France after landing at Normandy on D-Day and taking shrapnel from a German artillery round seven days later, for which he earned a Purple Heart.
Daymon Mathis describes "beginning to know what war was" while making his way through France after landing at Normandy on D-Day and taking shrapnel from a German artillery round seven days later, for which he earned a Purple Heart.
As a member of a glider team, Daymon Mathis describes making a glider drop behind German lines in Holland and the ensuing combat that lasted around 60 days, a mission for which he earned both a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart medal.
Daymon Mathis shares some of the combat and horrors he experienced during the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944. They moved into battle outside of Bastogne on the night of December 16th. Out of gasoline and food, they dug further into their foxholes to try and keep from freezing to death. After coming fire, and being separated from his platoon, he recalls the difficult task of identifying men he'd served with for years.
After taking over Hitler's hometown of Berchtesgaden, Germany, Daymon Mathis recalls discovering maternity barracks for Hitler Youth children.
