Robert Wright and Kenneth Moore
101st Airborne Division 

The Medic Heroes of
 Angoville-au-Plain
6 June 1944

In the early hours of June 6, 1944, thousands of allied paratroopers were dropped behind enemy lines in anticipation of the invasion of Normandy. One of the main objectives of the 101st Airborne was to capture the small village of Angoville-au-Plain. When intense fighting broke out over the village, two American medics, Robert Wright and Kenneth Moore, set up a medical station in the tiny town church.

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US paratroopers established control of Angoville-au-Plain, but German units quickly counterattacked and forced American troops back. Wright and Moore stayed behind, and when German soldiers entered the church, they were hostile to the Americans until they realized the medics were treating their wounded, as well. They left, posting a Red Cross flag at the entrance. For three days, the fighting raged on and the village changed hands several times, but the two medics toiled away, saving 80 lives, including a local teenager.

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Today, all of the stained glass windows in the church (the originals were destroyed in the battle) are tributes to Wright, Moore, and the 101st Airborne. Wright visited the church in 2004, and some of his ashes were spread in Angoville-au-Plain's cemetery.