BRADFORD COUNTY, Pa. — Time stands still on the beaches of Normandy, and the memories of sacrifice on this beach still live on.
World War II veteran Bill Wall was able to return to the beaches where so many made the ultimate sacrifice.
A place where he found closure before rejoining his fellow servicemen 80 years later.
The 101-year-old from Towanda died on Saturday.
This is what Bill said of his service back in June, "I was hoping to make a better world for my kids and everybody else."
He did just that.
Wall enlisted in the Army Air Corps at just 19 years old. He was a radio engineer and B-17 gunner tasked with bombing roads and bridges across Germany and France during World War II.
His squadron led by movie star Jimmy Stewart.
Bill says he was one of the few crews who were not shot down and had the same men throughout the entirety of the war.
Wall was originally expected to fly 25 missions but ended up running 32. The day after D-day, he was back in the air, his bombings forcing the Germans to retreat.
80 years later, he returned to the sand on the anniversary of D-Day, where he flew overhead, so many years before.
His footprints in Normandy will forever last in the sand, even long after the imprints are washed away.
"I don't feel like a hero now. Those heroes are the ones under those crosses in the unmarked graves. Those are the real heroes," said Bill.
Just as Bill's sacrifice continues to live on.
A humble hero from Bradford County who had an impact on this world far beyond his hometown of Towanda.
Bill Wall leaves behind two daughters, two grandsons, three great-grandchildren, and, of course, so many within Towanda who considered Bill to be family.
Newswatch 16's Melissa Steininger spoke with WWII veterans Bill Wall and Harold Gary back in June about their experiences in World War II. Watch the story on WNEP's YouTube page: