Longest Day hero's D-Day exploits exposed as lie
For more than six decades, Howard Manoian revelled in his heroic reputation as one of the men who landed in Nazi-occupied France on D-Day.
The Second World War US parachutist said he was wounded in action after coming down on Sainte-Mère-Église - the scene of the ferocious battle of June 6 1944 depicted in the epic film The Longest Day, starring John Wayne.
But after Mr Manoian, 84, was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, France's highest award for bravery, at last month's 65th anniversary of the Normandy landings, his true war record was finally made public.
Rather than storming across Europe and taking part in some of the most famous actions in military history, the self-styled American hero in fact spent most of the war minding a supply dump in northern France after arriving on Utah Beach by supply ship.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
The Second World War US parachutist said he was wounded in action after coming down on Sainte-Mère-Église - the scene of the ferocious battle of June 6 1944 depicted in the epic film The Longest Day, starring John Wayne.
But after Mr Manoian, 84, was awarded the Legion d'Honneur, France's highest award for bravery, at last month's 65th anniversary of the Normandy landings, his true war record was finally made public.
Rather than storming across Europe and taking part in some of the most famous actions in military history, the self-styled American hero in fact spent most of the war minding a supply dump in northern France after arriving on Utah Beach by supply ship.
The incredible deceit finally came to light thanks to military records including Army pay roll documents obtained by the Boston Herald Tribune in American military archives.
Since the war, Mr Manoian had even set up home in Chef-du-Pont, a village near Sainte-Mère-Église, where a plaque was erected in his honour, alongside the 82nd Airborne museum in the town.