D-Day 6 June, 1944

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 Capt. Alex Hacker, in Belgium 1945


D Day 6 June, 1944

82 years ago Allied Forces stormed the beaches of Normandy.  Among those forces was Captain Alex Hacker, father of SKCGS member Alexis Hacker Booker.  These photos and the information with them are from Alexis and her sister Dee Jarvis.


Day One, Landing Craft

Dee Jarvis:  My dad was on one of the first boats [landing craft] and was pulled off for a doctor [who was senior to my father and demanded to take his place], who was shot in the landing. Daddy went on day 2, encountering gunfire and bodies.


 Alexis Visits Omaha Beach

Omaha Beach Division Marker


Alexis Hacker Booker:  I was on Omaha Beach three years ago. I called our mother Evelyn from the beach and this is what she told me: Our father Alex was in the Corp of Engineers, and the engineers were placed on various landing craft with the Infantry. They already had orders for when they got ashore. However, when they hit the beaches their orders changed; their new orders were to retrieve bodies and build a temporary cemetery. 

Temporary cemetery marker



Top of the hill: American Cemetery,
which replaced that temporary cemetery



Capt. Hacker Helped Liberate Holland and Belgium




This plate was given to my father as a gift after they liberated the city of Maastricht, Holland, the first town in Holland to be liberated. How he got it home along with 2 bottles of French champagne (also a gift in France for liberating the wine country) which he saved for his wedding night is beyond my comprehension.

After marrying and starting a family, he made a career of the U.S. Army, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. He loved life and wanted the same for his three red-haired daughters!

Leonard, Alexis and Alex Hacker



US Overseas Military Cemeteries

In 2019, David & Kathy Hutchinson wrote about their trips to some European American military cemeteries, and how to learn more about them before you visit. Below is an updated version of that post, and one of David's beautiful photos which have since disappeared from that original post. 


Pointe du Hoc, 1996: used with permission


Every June 6th, on the news, I watch the dignitaries visiting the cemetery at Normandy Beach. Then we planned a trip there, so I did some research. I found out that there are thirty-six US Military cemeteries and monuments and thirty Federal memorials throughout the world, all operated by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

While in Normandy, we stayed at a B&B close to Omaha Beach, which had many photos of the local area after D-Day. There was nothing vertical standing in any of the photos. All the trees, bushes, and buildings were leveled.

In the Normandy American Cemetery, near Omaha Beach, 9380 people are buried. This is the cemetery that you see the most on the news.

Eight miles to the west is the Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument. Here is where the U.S. Army Rangers scaled a 100 foot cliff and seized German bunkers. You are able to walk around the bunker and bomb craters there.

A few miles to the east of Omaha Beach is Juno Beach, where the Canadians landed on D-Day. The Canadians built the Juno Beach Centre museum, which is dedicated to all the Canadians lost during War War II.

The next time we went to Europe, we got to visit two more American cemeteries. In Belgium, we went to the Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial. The cemetery is located outside the town of Waregem. We took the train to Waregem and then walked about two miles through the beautiful town to the cemetery. Flanders Field Cemetery isn't large, 6 acres and 368 burials. It was the most manicured cemetery that I've ever seen.

While we were staying in Luxembourg City, we went to the Luxembourg American Cemetery. It's a short bus ride and then about a mile walk. General George S. Patton is buried there.

If you ever travel overseas, it's worth a visit to go to an American military cemetery. They are located in 17 countries, including New Zealand, Cuba, and Mexico City.

if you plan go to Normandy, watch the movie The Longest Day first. This movie shows the historical events and locations of D-Day and it will prepare you for what you will be seeing in Normandy.

Hutch and family in Normandy



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Send your stories to m.strickland@skcgs.org





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