Yukon Veteran Remembers D-Day, The Battle Of The Bulge

On Veteran's Day Monday, a 90-year-old Yukon man talked about being involved in the D-Day Invasion in Normandy, France, and the Battle of the Bulge.

Bill Byers is a Blanchard native, and says when his unit first made it to the beaches of Normandy, he believed he would never make it home alive.

"I was on guard duty one night and the artillery sounded like machine guns and I said there's no way out get out of here alive," he said.

However, Byers persevered during his one-year tour overseas. He says one of the things he remembers most about the Battle of the Bulge is how cold it was. He says his unit was on a ship heading towards New York City when they learned America had dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan, thus ending the war.

"And you know we went into town over there, and we went dancing. And while I was dancing with a girl, I just burst out laughing. And she said, ‘what are you laughing about.' I said, ‘I'm laughing because I made it back,'" Byers said.

Byers eventually settled back here in Oklahoma, got married, and raised three daughters. He also ran a success home-building business for many years.