One of the heroes of D-Day has died

One of the heroes of the Normandy landings in World War II, on D-Day, the American Walter Ehlers died at the age of 93 in California after his kidneys failed, his wife Dorothy told the AP agency.

He was remembered for his extraordinary bravery, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor, because he destroyed two German machine gun nests and saved countless lives of Allied soldiers.

A 23-year-old sergeant at the time, Ehlers fought his way through enemy fire and killed seven German soldiers, forcing several others to flee, ending the machine-gun fire on the Allied soldiers. He also dragged a wounded comrade to a safe hiding place, during which he was shot in the back.

Even so, for years afterward, Ehlers rarely talked about his wartime achievements, until news broke that he had received the Medal of Honor for his heroism, which allowed him to be invited to every presidential inauguration since Dwight Eisenhower's tenure. The news of Ehlers' death last Thursday was conveyed to the AP agency yesterday by his wife.

After Ehlers' death, only seven war veterans - winners of the Medal of Honor for heroic deeds in the Second World War - remained alive. His wife confirmed that Ehlers never boasted about the Medal of Honor.

"I wear it for all those who didn't come home," Ehlers, whose brother Roland died during the Normandy landings, once said.

"He would always tell you that his brother, who died on D-Day, was his hero," Ehlers' wife said.

The two brothers enlisted together in 1940 and participated in numerous invasions from North Africa and Italy, until the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944. The day before, their superiors said they would separate them, to increase the possibility that at least one survive.

When they landed in Normandy under heavy German fire, Ehlers managed to lead his group of soldiers to a beach shelter. His brother who was in the other boat was killed.