D-Day: Former paratrooper carries memories, scars of war to this day

Army Pfc. Mario Patruno was 23, tough and fit. He'd fought in the ring as a youth boxer, and in the streets of Holyoke, Mass., with a brawling gang called the Bond Street Rovers.

On the dark morning of June 6, 1944, he'd need all the toughness he possessed if he wanted to see June 7.

Flying over Normandy under heavy fire, his plane was going low and too fast when he jumped from 400 feet, landing far from his intended landing spot. His parachute riddled with holes, he tumbled to a rough landing, all alone.

It was 1:20 a.m. on D-Day. Patruno — nicknamed Gus — was a member of Company F of the Army's 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, recently a focus of HBO's "Band of Brothers."

His job: to help hold a causeway at Utah Beach. In the confusion, he never made it to the causeway, but for the next month he would endure a series of skirmishes and firefights across France — bloody, nasty moments that still cause him to cry out at night.

Now 90, he lives with his wife Ruth in a senior community southwest of St. Augustine. The exact order of the days after D-Day are a little fuzzy for him today, but his memories of specific events are vivid.

Focused on survival

He was born April 8, 1921, in Massachusetts to Italian immigrants. After World War II started, a recruiter sold him on the paratroopers.

"He said, 'We got this new outfit: You don't walk, you ride in planes, it pays 100 bucks a month.' I said, 'Sign me up.'"

In 1943, the 506th arrived in England to prepare for the invasion of Europe. Before it came, there was some time for sightseeing. Patruno was cheeky: He once tried to take an ancient brick from Roman ruins in Wales, but the authorities stopped him.

"I told them I was Italian, I was related to Julius Caesar," he said. They didn't buy it.

Rumors and stories flew in the weeks before D-Day. He knew it was going to be big. Patruno remembers what a beautiful sight it was late at night, flying low over hundreds of ships making their way across the English Channel.

After landing alone, Patruno met a guy from the 501st. His gun stock was broken, but Patruno repaired it with medical tape. Within half an hour, they stumbled on a lieutenant from the 82nd Airborne and about 15 men. They joined up with them as they marched toward Utah Beach, but Patruno split off as the group from the 82nd went their own way. He was itching to join his own men.

The area was thick with Germans, and all his senses were focused on survival.

WCS Octavia: JULIUS CAESAR KILLED! - Post #3

&Nbsp;      Julius Caesar, my great uncle, has been murdered by the Senate! One of the conspirators is Brutus! Though, I am surprised Brutus, a good friend of Caesar, was a part of this. Although our leader has been dispatched, this means my brother, Octavian, is now able to become emperor! Disregarding that Octavian is my brother, I honestly feel he will do a great job governing Rome. Hello, I am Octavia. I am the sister of Augustus Octavian. I was born in 69 BC in Naples, Italy. My father is Gauius Octavius, a Roman Governer and Senator. I am well respected and admired by many for my loyality, nobility, and humanity. Julius Caesar is my great-uncle. My three children are Claudia Marcella Major, Claudia Marcella Minor, and Marcus Claudius Marcellus.

Shakespeares Julius Caesar

English verb classes and alternations, a preliminary investigation

Tragedy of Julius Caesar

Julius IV

Shakespeare's tragedy of Julius Caesar