William “Bill” Cook, 94, of Eau Claire earned two Purple Hearts during his service. On June 6, 1944, Cook was among thousands of paratroopers landed behind the German lines, where they secured bridges and roads.

EAU CLAIRE — William “Bill” Cook Jr., 94, and his wife, Margaret “Peggy” Cook, 89, haven't learned about World War II in a history book; they both lived through it.

Bill, barely 20 years old at the time, served as a paratrooper for the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment until 1945. Meanwhile, Peggy, a teenager still in high school, worried about the well-being of her four brothers who were all in the military.

Before making two combat jumps, both of which earned him a Purple Heart, Cook trained in Georgia. He and his comrades made their first five jumps with parachutes they packed themselves.

“That's the one time you listened real good,” Cook said.

The training was so intense only about half of the men successfully completed it.

For a short time, Cook moved from military camp to camp before heading across the Atlantic Ocean.

After spending 14 days on a ship, Cook disembarked in Glasgow, Scotland, and then traveled by train to Newbury, England, where he spent the next five months preparing to jump into Normandy, France, as part of an Allied invasion.

Initially scheduled for June 5, the invasion plans were postponed because of weather conditions.

At about 6:30 a.m. June 6, 1944 — forever after known as D-Day — more than 156,000 Allied soldiers landed along Normandy's 50-mile stretch of beaches after crossing the English Channel.

The Allied troops overcame light opposition at four of the five beaches, but U.S. troops found heavier resistance and suffer heavy casualties at Omaha Beach.

The invasion, which is one of the largest amphibious military assaults ever, later became known as the “beginning of the end of the war in Europe.”

But in the early hours of June 6, before sunrise, Cook was among thousands of paratroopers landed behind the German lines, where they secured bridges and roads.

Experts estimate that about 2,500 Allied troops died during the D-Day invasion, but some believe the fatalities were as high as 4,000.

“I don't know how I walked away,” Cook said. “I guess it was luck.”

On the second day, Cook was talking with another soldier, when the man was shot and killed. Cook's lieutenant, who was nearby, was also killed. But Cook survived his neck and chest injuries.“I just got shrapnel in my neck and chest. It's still in there,” he said. “And my one arm was pretty beat up, but I came out all right.”He was sent to a hospital in England, but would later make a second combat jump in Holland for Operation Market Garden on Sept. 17, 1944.“It was hell, I'll tell you,” Cook said, explaining that his experience in Holland was worse than his drop in Normandy.Operation Market Garden, was the largest airborne operation in history. More than 20,000 Allied paratroopers and 13,500 troops in gliders landed inside Holland.Ultimately, it would be a failure. German troops stopped the Allies at Arnhem, forcing them to retreat. Specifically in Arnhem, a fifth of the 10,000 troops that landed there escaped.Cook recalls one instance where he was running toward a ditch, and another man beat him there. Fortunately, Cook jumped in a water hole instead, as the man in the coveted ditch was hit.On Oct. 6, 1944, Cook was shot in the back and lost his left index finger, earning him his second Purple Heart.He was once again hospitalized, where he stayed until March 1945. He then joined the Air Force, since he could no longer serve as a paratrooper, but because of his disabilities, he never saw combat again. He was discharged on Nov. 1, 1945, and began working at General Electric in Warren, Ohio, only 17 days later.“I wanted to go to work and forget all about it,” Cook explained.At age 22, he married a woman he knew before the war.At that time, Peggy didn't know Cook. While Bill was fighting, she spent her final high school years without the guidance of her four older brothers.While none of them ever saw combat, Peggy constantly missed them and worried about them. Her mother would write letters to her sons every Monday and Wednesday, and they would respond at least once a week.Peggy married at age 23.Bill and Peggy Cook met later in life after both their spouses had died.They married in 1994. Bill told Peggy about his experiences, and they even traveled to Holland once for the 50th anniversary of Operation Market Garden.“I've heard it so much I know it all by heart,” Peggy Cook said.They spend their summers tending a 50-by-80 foot garden and their winters making chocolates, which are mostly given away.

As a 20-year- old, William “Bill” Cook of Eau Claire served as a paratrooper during World War II.