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Charles Durning 1923-2012 On June 6 1944, he stormed Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion of Normandy. He was the only member of his unit to make it ashore alive. He then made a daring charge against 7 German machine gunners and in the chaos, he was shot in both legs and riddled with shrapnel. It took 6 grueling months in a hospital relearning to walk. When his superiors repeatedly denied his request to rejoin his unit, he took matters into his own hands breaking out of the hospital and making his way to Belgium to reunite with hid brothers in arms. But fate dealt him another cruel blow. After arriving in Belgium, Durning and his fellow soldiers were captured during the Battle of the Bulge. For 3 days they were marched through a freezing forest. Then, without warning, the Germans opened fire on the defenseless POW's in what would become the Malmedy Massacre, one of the most horrific atrocities of World War II. Of the 90 Americans in the group only a handful escaped including Durning, running through the snow-covered forest. Durning suffered from severe PTSD and survivor's guilt that haunted him the rest of his life. "I saw things that nobody should ever have to see," he reflected late in life, "I'll take the memory of those boys who didn't make it to the grave with me." Charles Durning was more than an actor, he was a warrior, a survivor and an American legend whose courage in the face of unimaginable odds inspire us all!