As the world reflects on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France, there are fewer and fewer veterans living to share their stories from the day many historians refer to as the beginning of the end of World War II.

One centurion and D-Day veteran living in the Chicago area says the fateful day still feels fresh in his memory.

“I was on the LCT-539 that hit the beach at a quarter to 7 at Fox Red and the minute we dropped the ramp, they opened on us,” said Rung.

Richard “Dick” Rung was drafted in 1943 at 18 years old and joined the United States Navy, serving as a Motor Machinist's Mate aboard the Landing Craft Tank 539, or LCT-539, during the D-Day assault on Normandy’s Omaha Beach.

Rung’s boat was tasked with sending ammunition and other supplies to troops.

“We got this call from the beach, you know, we’re still on the water,” said Rung. “The message was, ‘They are slaughtering us like hogs,’ and they were.”

The 100-year-old Buffalo native says he’ll never forget the horrors he witnessed 80 years ago on Omaha Beach.

“There were bodies floating in the water,” said Rung. “There were guys being shot on land.”

Over 156,000 Allied soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

Despite their success, over 4000 troops were killed by German soldiers.

With his days in the Navy long in the rearview, Rung has been preaching peace to younger generations, in hopes they will learn from the history he helped create.