101-Year-Old WWII Normandy Veteran
Meet had 101-year-old Marvin Blakeman, a WWII veteran who served as a Technician Fifth Grade in the Intelligence and Reconnaissance (I&R) Platoon of HQ Company, 1st Battalion, 330th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division. His job was to scout enemy positions, update battlefield maps, and deliver critical intelligence to commanders, all while operating near or ahead of the front lines.
Blakeman arrived in France shortly after D-Day, landing at Utah Beach in July 1944. His first combat experience came just inland, where the 83rd Infantry Division began its push through Normandy’s hedgerow country. These natural defensive barriers made movement slow, dangerous, and unpredictable.
His I&R platoon often operated in small teams, advancing cautiously through this terrain to pinpoint enemy positions and pass that information up the chain of command. At night, they would dig in behind hedgerows and wait for contact. He recalled the eerie quiet before battle and the constant risk of artillery and mortar fire. During one mission, his unit came under heavy fire, forcing them to flee their positions while still relaying updates to command.
Blakeman was also tasked with managing map overlays and distribution, ensuring commanders had up-to-date visual information on a fast-changing battlefield. Enemy movements, terrain features, and front-line shifts had to be plotted and re-plotted constantly. The work was demanding and required precision under pressure.
Blakeman made it clear that while he was close to the fighting, it was the front-line infantrymen who endured the harshest conditions. He expressed deep admiration for their resilience, saying they were the ones who faced direct enemy fire day after day. Still, his role frequently brought him into the heart of combat, and he witnessed firsthand the destruction caused by artillery and the high cost of small infantry advances.
Blakeman went on to serve through the entirety of the 83rd Infantry Division’s campaigns across the European Theater, fighting in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany until the end of the war.