D-Day Memorial Stories
in honor of
Maj. Norman K. Arvidson

Introduction


By web site Editor, Chuck Stone

The genesis of this story and biographical notes collection are told in other
sections of this RB-29.net web site. Anyone who has invested time cruising
the site realizes that the earlier narrow focus of the site has gradually
expanded to include information relating to WW II, the Korean War
and the early Cold war period. Stories have been contributed by
individuals and families from many parts of the U.S. As we have
reached out across the miles to assemble and organize the
information and photographs for individual stories, it has
become obvious to me that there are similar stories,
largely waiting to be told, within our local community
of Little Falls, Minnesota. We recently published one
such story of the combat and POW experiences
of John C. Schumacher, a gunner and
assistant flight engineer on a B-24,
shot down on a bombing raid
over Europe in WW II.

Click here if you wish to access the Schumacher story

If you choose to check it out, use your back button to return to this page.

One of the most admired couples my wife and I have come to know since
moving to Little Falls in 1973 have been Norman and Shirley Arvidson.
Attending the same church and coming together from time to time we
learned snatches of facts that he was a WW II C-47 pilot who was
in on the D-Day invasion and other related activities. Norman
was not the kind of person who would back you into a corner
to share his war stories. Norman passed on this last April
and I deeply regret that I had not cornered him to
become more familiar with his life story and
the memorabilia he had accumulated.

After attending his funeral and hearing his children speak so lovingly
and frankly about their Dad, I realized there was a collection of
resources here to create a D-Day Memorial story with Norman
as its focal point. With the cooperation of his family, we
are now ready to tell you his story which is related
to many stories, so many yet untold, of this
important event in human history.

Please move on to the Table of Contents and make your selections.


CoverIntroductionTable of Contents

Chapter — 01020304050607080910

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Additional WW II, Korean War and Early Cold War
Classified Reconnaissance Recollections and Related Stories

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