Natives of France recently came to say thank you to a Columbus man for saving the lives of their countrymen from the Nazis so long ago.
Marvin Sabatino let the thankfulness shown by members of the French-oriented Columbus Indiana Accueil organization wash over him about that dramatic day 74 years ago during the invasion of Normandy on Omaha Beach. But Sabatino retained a matter-of-fact perspective that one might expect from a 94-year-old World War II veteran with the U.S. Army.
“It made me feel good,” he said of the group’s gratitude.
His job as a medic on D-Day was to care for or save the wounded brought aboard the Borinquen. The small, transport ship sat off the coast of France as the Western Allies launched the largest amphibious invasion in history when they assaulted Normandy, on the northern coast of France on June 6, 1944.
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Sabatino’s role in history surfaced recently when the Accuweil group asked him to serve as grand marshal of the France-themed Ethnic Expo parade in downtown Columbus. He recalled waving to the crowd lining Washington Street from a vintage vehicle that once belonged to the president of France.
“He got a pretty good reaction,” said Rob Darringer, a friend and neighbor who served with the Indiana National Guard in Afghanistan.
“Oh, he’s getting to be a regular celebrity,” ribbed wife Jacqueline, his spouse for 69 years.
The pair prefers to keep their most recent Veterans Day celebrations more muted affairs. They generally take advantage of one of the local restaurants serving free meals to former soldiers, and plan to do the same a week from today this year — on Nov. 11.
Yet, he still finds himself recalling scenes and memories from his military service from 1941 to 1945. Sabatino is vulnerable enough to acknowledge that his stoic military demeanor cracked on D-Day only when he finishing tending to the first wave of wounded.
“First thing I did was go to my bed, stick my head in my pillow, and cry,” Sabatino said.
His now-late brother, Marshall Sabatino, was among the first soldiers to hit the beach, and survived. In fact, before Marshall’s death three years ago, the two were neighbors in Columbus.
Darringer said he is honored to know such a member of group often labeled The Greatest Generation.
To get a respectful grip on the courage of that collection of soldiers, a 2011 Discovery Channel program on the Normandy invasion put the odds of soldiers survival at 25 percent, according to modern calculations.
But half survived.
Sabatino knew nothing was guaranteed. At one point, he recalled seeing a torpedo whiz past their ship as it traveled in a convoy of vessels. Another ship in the convoy succumbed to a German missile and sank.
“I still wake up sometimes at night, and something will suddenly pop up into my memory,” Sabatino said.
His memories today include the occasion when waves broke a 60-foot section of his ship on Christmas Eve 1943.
“I remember thinking, ‘This ol’ tub ain’t going to make it,’” Sabatino said.
When he returned from the war, his mother told him she had a dream the night of that mishap. In the dream, her son’s ship went down, but her boy was afloat on a mattress.
“It came pretty close to that,” he said, now able to chuckle about the danger.
Sabatino was inspired to serve partly through his father’s service in World War I.
“I used to wear his uniform,” the veteran said, recalling his days as a youngster in Dayton, Ohio. “Actually, I wore it until I nearly wore it out.”
His military lineage stretches even longer. His great-grandfather, Gen. John Logan, who fought in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War, is credited with establishing what is now Memorial Day in 1868.
Sabatino and his wife regularly attend the Memorial Day service on the lawn of the Bartholomew County Memorial For Veterans.
“We owe all of them (who died),” Jacqueline said.
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What: Bartholomew County Veterans Day program, including the laying of wreaths, reading of names of those who served and are now deceased, a balloon release, "Taps," and other elements.
When: 11 a.m. Nov. 11.
Where: Bartholomew County Memorial For Veterans, Second and Washington streets in downtown Columbus.
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