Decades after surviving D-Day, a local World War II veterans continues his service to others.
Joe Brader joined the Army when he was only 18 years old. The South County native became an Army medic and landed on Utah Beach on D-Day
His equipment weighed him down in the water, and he was surrounded by chaos. He says still can’t believe he survived that day.
“I should have drowned on D-Day,” the now-91 year old said.
“Then the same day, I was walking down the road and shells were coming in and I just felt like I had a shield around me. There was nobody else on the road.”
Brader survived the water, only to face more danger later. He recalls one incident when an enemy plane began firing.
“I just laid there and shook and prayed,” he said. “18 years old, you’re scared to death.”
Brader got to come home from the war, though he knew many others who did not.
“I don’t like to even think about some of it, you know, after being through it all,” he said.
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