Brig. Gen. Roger Giraud, commanding general of U.S. Army Medical Readiness Command, Europe, and Command Sgt. Maj. Kalani Kalili pose for a photo with Charles Shay, as his niece, Dawn Kelly, holds his Order of Military Medical Merit certificate during a bedside ceremony in Bayeux, France, Nov. 19, 2025. Shay, a World War II and Korean War combat medic, was recognized for his heroism and lifelong dedication to remembrance in Normandy. (Samuel Kim/U.S. Army )
Charles Shay, a D-Day veteran who now calls Normandy home, was recognized by Army leadership during a recent bedside ceremony not far from the beach he stormed over 80 years ago.
Shay, who served as a combat medic during World War II, was inducted Wednesday into the Order of Military Medical Merit at his Bayeux home, where U.S. Army Europe and Africa leaders presented him with a corresponding medal.
“His extraordinary courage as a combat medic on D-Day and his unwavering commitment to saving lives under extreme danger embody the highest ideals of Army medicine,” Brig. Gen. Roger Giraud, leader of U.S. Army Medical Readiness Command, Europe, said during the ceremony.
Shay’s actions saved the lives of countless soldiers, Giraud added.
Now 101, Shay is one of a dwindling number of living D-Day vets. Over the years, he has been a fixture at annual remembrance ceremonies commemorating the June 6, 1944, Allied assault on the beaches of Normandy.
The amphibious landings helped turn the tide of the war and paved the way for Allied victory over Nazi Germany a year later.
World War II veteran Charles Shay at a D-Day 75th anniversary ceremony in Picauville, France in June 2019. Behind him at right is his longtime friend-turned-caregiver, Marie-Pascale Legrand. Over the years, Shay has been a fixture at annual ceremonies commemorating D-Day, June 6, 1944. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Drafted at 19, Shay was in the first wave to land on Omaha Beach and came under immediate attack by German forces concentrated in elevated positions.
Shay repeatedly waded into the surf to rescue the wounded during the assault, which killed some 2,400 Americans. He was honored with the Silver Star for his courage under fire.
He went on to fight in numerous major engagements, including the Battle of the Bulge, as Allies pushed through France and Belgium into Germany, where he was later captured and held prisoner until the war’s end in 1945. Afterward, he served in the Korean War.
In 2018, Shay moved to Normandy permanently from his native Maine. An enrolled member of the Penobscot tribe, he now holds almost celebrity status.
A bust of him sits in the center of the Charles Shay Indian Memorial in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, France, which honors the service of Native Americans during the war and has been a destination point for numerous visiting U.S. Army generals during D-Day events.
First Lt. Emma Coar, aide-de-camp to the commanding general of U.S. Army Medical Readiness Command, Europe, enters the home of Marie-Pascale Legrand, where Charles Shay resides, prior to a bedside ceremony honoring him with the Order of Military Medical Merit in Bayeux, France, Nov. 19, 2025. Shay, a World War II and Korean War combat medic, can be seen in the photo at right. (Samuel Kim/U.S. Army)
The Order of Military Medical Merit medal and certificate rest on an award tray before being presented to retired Master Sgt. Charles Norman Shay during a ceremony in Bayeux, France, Nov. 19, 2025. Shay, a World War II and Korean War combat medic, was honored for his valor and lifelong commitment to remembrance in Normandy. (Samuel Kim/U.S. Army)
In an interview with Stars and Stripes in 2019, Shay said moving to Normandy gave him new life and a greater sense of purpose.
“This gives me an opportunity to visit the cemetery where I have lost many friends who are laying there in graves. I can visit them now as often as I like,” Shay said at the time.
He was taken in by his longtime friend-turned-caregiver, Marie-Pascale Legrand, who lives about 20 miles from Omaha Beach.
“We are free today because of men like Charles,” Legrand said during the Nov. 19 ceremony at the home she welcomed Shay into. “Caring for him is an honor. We owe a great debt to these veterans who sacrificed so much.”
The Order of Military Medical Merit medal and certificate rest on an award tray before being presented to Charles Shay during a ceremony in Bayeux, France, Nov. 19, 2025. Shay, a World War II and Korean War combat medic, was honored for his valor and lifelong commitment to remembrance in Normandy. (Samuel Kim/U.S. Army)
