SAN DIEGO -- Memorial Day has a special meaning for an 88-year-old Chula Vista man who was there when Allied forces stormed a beach in France on June 6, 1944 -- or what is known as D-Day.
"I'm proud of all them guys because they're sacrificing their lives … sacrificing their lives. To me, it's an honor," said Lauro Vega.
Vega knows about sacrifice. As a 21-year-old soldier, he had never been in combat until he was part of the thousands who stormed Omaha Beach in Normandy with the 197th Anti-Aircraft Battalion. He remembers heading toward shore that morning.
"One of my buddies said, ‘This is going to be history,'" Vega recalled.
As he landed, Vega prayed he would not get hit. People were being shot all around him.
"But the one that got me was Jack Ruland," he said. "I've never forgotten him. I dream about him today."
Ruland, who had never been in combat either, was killed on D-Day, right next to Vega, who didn't talk about that day at all for 20 years.
"I didn't want to say," Vega said. "I don't know why. I didn't want to talk about it."
Talking about it is easier now, with the passage of time.
"I've always felt proud because I made it. I made it and I figured, hey … I did something for my country when they needed it," said Vega.
Military records show 9,000 Allied troops were killed or wounded that day.
Vega has never been back to Normandy, but a friend visited there and brought Vega a vial of sand from Omaha Beach. He keeps it still.
"I've always loved it," he said. "It gives me a remembrance from over there."
All the other members of his squad on D-Day have died.
While many Americans hang flags outside their home on Memorial Day, Vega will proudly display his flag next Monday, June 6.
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