The June 7 edition of the Butler Eagle included a touching front page photo of D-Day survivor Steve Kellman of Weston, Wis., with his granddaughter at the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy. They were standing in front of the grave of 1st Lt. Jimmie W. Monteith Jr., who, as Steve's company commander (L Company, 16th Infantry, 1st Division), was killed that day in the fighting.

This cemetery is truly a sight that, once seen, is never to be forgotten — a sea of white crosses of both five and six points. A visitor there will never be the same after viewing the grave sites of more than 9,000 young men who gave their lives for their country and world freedom, especially if they are present when "Taps" is played to nary a dry eye.

I recognize that Monteith and Kellman are symbolic of all the D-Day participants — those who survived and those who did not. There were 4,720 casualties (killed, wounded and missing) that day on Omaha Beach and, from this picture, it could be argued that Monteith was just one of them.

However, further research into Monteith will show that he was shortchanged in the write-up beneath the picture of Kellman and his granddaughter. To a man, the hundreds of World War II veterans I have interviewed will say they were not heroes; the true heroes are those such as Monteith who will remain on the field of battle forever.

Monteith was more than a hero. He was a Medal of Honor winner for his efforts that day.

For those who might not know, the Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration that may be awarded to members of the armed forces of the United States.

There were only three Medal of Honor winners on Omaha Beach that day of the total of 35,000 who participated, and to mention Monteith without the additional recognition of his achievements does not do Monteith his justice.

It begs for additional information. This is his story:

At Omaha Beach that day, nearly all of the elaborate plans made by the High Command failed, not the least of which was landing the men at the locations where they had trained so long to attack.

Like most outfits that day, Monteith and L Company were landed in the wrong place, far to the east of the correct location at which they were to begin combat.

They were pinned down by murderous fire from one of the strongest defensive positions in Normandy, and any German with a killer eye and field glasses could see each and every thing that moved on the beach as a target, no matter how small.

I quote now from the U.S. Army citation of Monteith:

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty on 6 June 1944, in the vicinity of Colleville-sur-Mer, France. 1st Lt. Monteith landed with the initial assault waves on the coast of France under heavy enemy fire. Without regard to his own personal safety he continually moved up and down the beach reorganizing men for further assault. He then led the assault over a narrow protective ledge and across the flat, exposed terrain to the comparative safety of a cliff. Retracing his steps across the field to the beach, he moved over to where two tanks were buttoned-up and blind under violent enemy artillery and machine gun fire. Completely exposed to this intense fire, 1st Lt. Monteith led the tanks on foot through a minefield and into firing positions. Under his directions several enemy positions were destroyed. He then rejoined his company and under his leadership his men captured an advantageous position on the hill. Supervising the defense of his newly won position against repeated vicious counterattacks, he continued to ignore his own personal safety, repeatedly crossing the two or three hundred yards of open terrain under heavy fire to strengthen links in his defensive chain. When the enemy succeeded in completely surrounding 1st Lt. Monteith and his unit, and while leading the fight out of the situation, 1st Lt. Monteith was killed by enemy fire. The courage, gallantry, and intrepid leadership displayed by 1st Lt. Monteith is worthy of emulation."

It should be noted that Lt. Gen. Walter Bedell Smith, chief of staff, Allied Expeditionary Forces; Gen. Omar Bradley, 12th Army Group commander; Gen. Courtney Hodges, First Army commander; and Major General Gerow, V Corps commander, recommended downgrading Monteith's award to a Distinguished Service Cross.

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, on the other hand, was so impressed with the work of Monteith that he overruled this recommendation of his top aides and insisted that the award be the Medal of Honor.

In this day and age when "hero" is one of the most overused words in our vocabulary, we need to reflect upon a true hero and what he sacrificed for us.

This information was taken from the book "Omaha Beach, D-Day, June 6, 1944," written by D-Day historian Joseph Balkoski.