Worcester Man Honored During the 79th Anniversary of D-Day

On June 6, the 79th anniversary of D-Day, the largest amphibious invasion in history, volunteers with the non-profit Stories Behind the Stars are honoring 56 Pennsylvania members of the 116th Regiment who lost their lives on Omaha Beach during that fateful day, including one from Worcester, according to a staff report from The Mercury.

Andrew Denner Bean was born in 1919. He had two brothers and two sisters. After completing grammar school, he got a job at Franklin Tile Company in Lansdale. He enlisted in the Army on June 9, 1942.

Bean was assigned to Company L of the 116th Infantry Regiment, a part of the 29th Infantry Division. In October 1942, he arrived with his unit at Tidworth, England. In June 1943, his regiment and his division were transferred to Devon for coastal defensive duties near Plymouth.

During the invasion of Normandy, the 116th Infantry Regiment led the assault on Omaha Beach. They took heavy casualties, with just around half of the roughly 240 men of Company L surviving.

PFC Bean, who was laid to rest at the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer in France, was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

Read more about Andrew Denner Bean in The Mercury.

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