Special to the Times-Review

When Meals-on-Wheels client John Hooper of Joshua near his high school graduation day in June 1943, his thoughts weren’t centered on attending college or securing a job.

A notice from the draft board in the family’s mailbox drastically altered the teenager’s fate.

“Two weeks after I had graduated,” Hooper said, “I was in the Army.”

Little did then 18-year-old know, but he would be part of a historical turning point on the beaches of Omaha on June 6, 1944, D-Day.

Assigned to the 29th Infantry Division, Hooper was placed in the first battalion of the 115th Regiment.

“Of course, we knew that the invasion was eminent, but when we didn’t exactly know,” he said.

Hooper and his company boarded a Landing Craft Infantry, or LCI, which held about 300 men.

“It’s a boat that looks very much like a modern yacht with a pointed bow, but there are two ramps on either bow that are just wide enough for one man to climb down into the water,” Hooper said.

They sailed from Plymouth Harbor, England, and traveled to Weymouth Harbor.

Church services were held during the nocturnal hours on June 4 as the troops prepared.

Initially slated to take place the following day, the invasion was postponed by 24 hours because stormy weather.

When the seas clamed, the troops filed into LCIs on June 6, and the invasion was underway.

Carried by the tide, and missing their targeted landing area by several hundred yards, the men were told to prepare to debark as the captain attempted to ram the boat in as close to shore as possible.

“I was worried we were going to hit a mine, because the Germans had mined the area tremendously,” Hooper said. “I was in the forward part of the ship, so I was one of the first off of my platoon, which was about 40 men.”

Hooper carried about 50 to 60 pounds of special equipment and ammunition as well as an inflatable life jacket.

“In all of my 19 years I’d never waded in the water fully clothed, but then, in all 19 years I’d never been shot at either, so that was another experience,” he said.

Hooper’s platoon was about 50 yards from the shoreline and waist deep in the channel as German bullets began pelting the water in a deadly rainfall of ammunition.

“The beach was covered with rocks, instead of sand, it was covered with rocks. I later found out it was called scale,” he recalled “I tried to scoop the rocks out just to try to get closer to the earth. I immediately took this belt off because that kept me away from the earth about two inches and every inch counts, believe me.”

Chaos besieged the beach, Hooper said.

“There was utter confusion everywhere,” he said. “We didn’t land in our designated area, so things didn’t look familiar. I couldn’t find half of the members of my squad. Men were crawling around in every direction.

As the American forces continued to push up the beach, the German foothold began to break.

Hooper said it took most of the afternoon to reach high ground. Eventually, the steadfast determination of the American forces enabled to capture the beach from Germany.

Today, Hooper and wife Gen live in a rural setting in southeast Joshua, in a rustic rock home the couple built.

An accomplished artist, Gen had her studio built next to the home where she houses an incredible collection of paintings that range from floral to abstract.

Meals-on-Wheels serves more than 750 clients like the Hoopers throughout Johnson and Ellis counties each day.

Resources, such as volunteers and donations, are needed to continue the services to the homebound elderly and disabled throughout the county.

To volunteer, donate, or suggest someone who needs services, call Meals-on-Wheels at 817-558-2840, or visit www.servingthechildrenofyesterday.org.

Meals-on-Wheels is a community-based, nonprofit organization serving the residents of Johnson County for 33 years.