The Final Salute: National D-Day Memorial June 4-9, 2019 - 28

BY DAN SMITH

'IT WAS A LONG AND HARROWING DAY'
Chuck Neighbor, 94, is a resident of Roanoke.
Here, he looks back on his role on June 6,1944.

Chuck Neighbor,
2019 and in 1940s.

"I was handicapped with the flamethrower
on my back, the nozzle in one hand, and
my rifle in the other, but I managed
to get up and stumble ahead and
fall behind a clump of iris ... We
were no longer being hit with
artillery or mortar fire, but
machine gun and rifle fire was
becoming heavy. Sgt. Fischer
came up from behind me and

leaped behind a clump of high grass about ten
yards in front of me. When he rose to motion
the machine gunners forward, a rifle bullet hit
him in the stomach. He had been fatally
injured, but he emitted some agonizing groans.
I could do nothing to help him, and I could not
tell how badly he had been hurt, but all I could
think of [was] that if we were injured, we should
lay quietly and allow the others to go on."
- From Charles Neighbor's 2013 book One Man's War Story

Hom
beca e of the
use
Free
Spec of the Br
ia
a
to all l thank y ve.
ou
of t
have hose who
serve
d.

I did not serve during wartime; can I still come to
Virginia Veterans Care Center? Yes! Any honorable
discharge Veteran, who lives in Virginia or enlisted while a
resident, is eligible.
Is Virginia Veterans Care Center part of the VA? No. Though we work closely
with the VA, we are a state operated long term care facility exclusively for Veterans.
I am having surgery and require physical therapy. Can I come from the hospital? Sure! Just
let your Social Worker at the hospital know you want to come here to Virginia Veterans Care
Center for recovery. We have all the therapies you will need!
Does Virginia Veterans Care Center just have Nursing Home patients? No! We offer an Assisted
Living Unit, Dementia/Alzheimer Unit, Hospice, Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Care.

4550 Shenandoah Avenue, Roanoke, VA 24014 | Next door to the Salem VA | 540.982.2860
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THE FINAL SALUTE

https://www.dvs.virginia.gov/veterans-care-centers/vvcc https://www.dvs.virginia.gov/veterans-care-centers/vvcc

The Final Salute: National D-Day Memorial June 4-9, 2019

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