A legacy on the beaches: Sky Soldier honors WWII heroes in Normandy

Back to 173rd Mobile Brigade Combat Team (Airborne)

NORMANDY, France - For U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Andrew Torrance, standing on the historic grounds of Normandy isn't just a professional milestone. It is a moment that connects his service to the legacy of his family members who fought here during World War II.

Torrance, the fire support noncommissioned officer for "Attack Company," 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, traveled to France to participate in D-Day 82 commemorations. But his reasons run deeper than unit pride or historical interest.

"I am participating in the Normandy commemorations to honor my family's legacy," Torrance said. "My grandfather and his brother were both part of the liberation of France during World War II. My great uncle landed on Utah Beach during D-Day as a medic."

His great uncle, U.S. Navy Petty Officer William J. Mundy, served as a hospital corpsman aboard LST-496, a tank landing ship that spent a week supporting operations off the coast of Normandy. On June 11, 1944, the ship struck a mine, killing three crew members and sending the vessel to the bottom. Mundy survived the blast and was evacuated to a naval recovery facility in England.

Torrance's grandfather, U.S. Army Cpl. Charles Mundy, entered the European theater shortly afterward. In a twist of fate that became a treasured family story, the brothers unexpectedly reunited in England after two years apart. A 1944 newspaper article captured the moment, which was a rare coincidence amid the massive mobilization of Allied forces.

"There were tens of thousands of personnel moving through the theater," Torrance said. "The fact that they found each other again is incredible."

Eighty-two years later, Torrance walked the same coastline where his great uncle risked his life to save others. Though he had visited Normandy before as an amateur historian, this was his first time attending official D-Day remembrance events.

"Being in Normandy during D-Day festivities hits different," he said. "This is an incredibly powerful area to be in. You can feel it in the air, the presence of those who fought here and the battles that took place."

For Torrance, wearing the 173rd Airborne Brigade patch in this setting adds another layer of meaning.

The brigade's lineage traces back to the storied airborne operations of World War II, primarily in the Pacific theater, then again in Vietnam and Afghanistan, where the brigade's paratroopers received multiple Congressional Medals of Honor.

"It really is something special, and it's a major honor to be here while wearing the 173rd Airborne patch," he said. "It's one of the biggest honors of my life. I feel extremely humbled to be walking on these grounds."

His family shares that pride.

Torrance said relatives, including his great uncle's sister, who is still alive, have been sending him photos, newspaper clippings and wartime documents as he retraces the footsteps of the Mundy brothers.

"They told me I'm bringing incredible honor back to my family for coming here," he said. "It makes it even more significant that I get to be here in Normandy while representing the 173rd Airborne."

As thousands gather across northern France to mark the 82nd anniversary of the largest amphibious invasion in history, Torrance stands among them not only as a Sky Soldier, but as a grandson and great nephew carrying forward a legacy forged on these same beaches.

"It's humbling," he said. "And it's something I'll carry with me for the rest of my life."