Eyeworld

EW NEWS & OPINION 12 Dr. Chang: Tell us about your role in the invasion. How did you end up on Omaha Beach on D-Day? Colonel Ramos: All U.S. Army engi- neer officers were trained in mine warfare, demolitions, booby traps, the destruction of barbed wire and fixed concrete fortification obstacles. My commanders had selected me to receive additional specialized train- ing in England at the British Royal Engineer School. On completion of that intensive training I was de- tached from my unit, the 254th Engineer Combat Battalion. I was then assigned to train selective non- infantry combat units destined to participate in Operation Overlord, the invasion of Fortress Europe, in the avoidance of enemy explosive equipment. I returned to the battalion just in time to board LST (landing ship tank) 484, for the Normandy invasion. Accordingly, I missed my battalion's seaborne training of descending rope ladders and exiting with full gear into small beach landing craft. In the early afternoon, a small command vessel came alongside, using a bullhorn to ask if there were any combat engineers aboard. My battalion commander said yes and that we all had previous assigned missions. The command vessel re- sponse was, "Per order of the beach commander, send one engineer combat platoon (an officer and 43 men) ashore immediately to clear mines, booby traps, and other beach obstacles." I was assigned the task. I ordered my troops to follow me over the side with all regular gear plus demolition equipment, mine detectors, TNT (trinitro- toluene), blasting caps, and weapons. We descended via rope ladders into a bobbing LCVP (land- ing craft vehicle/personnel), hitting the side of the much larger LST. On arrival at the beach (desig- nated "OMAHA DOG-RED"), we received sniper/rifle fire, making our mission more difficult since we had to work from the prone position. When the beach area was secured we joined our battalion two days later and performed the many other functions of combat engineers. Thank God I was not in the first wave, otherwise I likely would not have survived. Dr. Chang: Did movies such as Saving Private Ryan accurately capture the experience of combat? How did you and your men over- come the fear enough to function in the face of such duress? Colonel Ramos: Over the years teachers and people interested in WWII European history have asked me what the 254th Engineers did on specific occasions and how the film Saving Private Ryan was portrayed in combat. The combat scenes were very realistic. The movie story line depicting a team with a captain and soldiers searching for an individual soldier is not realistic. Every soldier experiences fear. Soldiers risk their lives for their bud- dies. The men around you in train- ing and in combat bond together more closely than a biological bond. You see them doing extraordinary things, you laugh with them, pray with and for them, you see them suffer, you see their lives slip away. You do not want to be less of a man in each others' eyes. You never for- get them. You shower with them (when available), eat with them, train with them, share your family photos, exchange hopes and dreams. There is no other relationship quite like that of soldiers in combat. Dr. Chang: How often have you returned to Normandy? Have you kept in contact with other D-Day veterans? Colonel Ramos: I have returned to Normandy three times, and each time it is a moving experience for me. There is a visitors building where they ask if you were in the war and if friends are buried there. You give them the name, organiza- tion, and rank, and they use the computer to locate the individual site. They take the combat visitor to the gravesite in an electrical golf cart. Some families have requested that the remains of their loved ones be returned to the U.S. The govern- ment complies at no family cost. Dr. Chang: Only a few combat eyewitnesses from the Omaha Beach invasion remain. Now that cataract surgery has restored your vision, tell us about your book project and why you've decided to write. Colonel Ramos: The 254th Engi- neers were demobilized in December 1945. Looks like all of the men I served with are now deceased due to age, illness, or accidents. Possibly I am the last survivor. The most im- portant part of this or any military story is the performance of duty, and never forget that we are all brothers and sisters in the service of our great nation. True leaders put their mission and troops before self. I have attempted to provide the readers with some of the detail known only to those who have ex- perienced combat. As a then junior officer, I was not privy to the grand strategy, the logistics involved, or June 2014 by David F. Chang, MD Commemorating the heroism of D-Day Colonel Ramos discussing the D-Day Omaha Beach invasion with Dr. Chang during his postop visit. Source: David F. Chang, MD T he opportunity to visit Normandy last summer was a very moving experience for my family. From the expansive landing beaches, to the hedgerows, to the cliff at Pointe du Hoc, the terrain is preserved enough for modern visitors to at least partly fathom the scope and enormity of the Allied invasion that occurred here in June 1944. The Normandy American Cemetery lies on a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach, and is a solemn tribute to the costly sacrifices made at this deadliest of the 5 Allied landing sectors. Shortly after returning, I operated on a patient from Hawaii with bilateral cataracts. He mentioned struggling to write his mem- oirs because of blurred vision. Now 92 years old, retired Colonel J.L. Ramos is the last known survivor from his combat battal- ion that stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day, and he had never shared much about his military experience with his family in the past. I was naturally excited to discuss my recent Normandy visit with him, and it was a thrill to be able to ask him about D-Day and the campaign that followed. This month marks the 70th anniver- sary of D-Day, and Colonel Ramos was kind enough to allow me to interview him for this EyeWorld column. Today, enlisted individu- als in our all-volunteer armed forces account for less than 0.5% of our U.S. population. During World War II, the roughly 16 million enlisted Americans represented almost 12% of the U.S. population (nearly 25 times higher). This means that far fewer Americans today have friends or relatives serving in the military. As a result, we may be less cognizant and appreciative of the young men and women who place them- selves in harm's way to protect our country. As we commemorate this major turning point in American history, please join me in thanking and honoring the last of our sur- viving World War II heroes, such as Colonel Ramos, as well as those who currently serve in our armed forces. David F. Chang, MD, chief medical editor Chief medical editor's corner of the world 11-19 News_EW June 2014-DL_Layout 1 6/3/14 12:15 PM Page 12

• Cover