Wabanaki Warriors in WWII

Discover the story of Penobscot Elder Charles Norman Shay of Indian Island Maine. His life story brings to light the mostly ignored or fogotten service and sacrifice made by Native American soldiers and their communities in WWII. D-Day was Private Shay’s baptism by fire as a 19-year-old combat medic. Struggling ashore at Omaha Beach as part of the first wave of attack in Operation Neptune, he treated and rescued countless comrades and was awarded a Silver Star for gallantry displayed that day. Woven into the narrative are stories representative of other front-line medics and the 500 fellow North American Indians who heroically participated in what is still the largest seaborne invasion in world history.