Johnston remembers its casualties of war
Sherrill Stevens, center, a 99-year-old veteran of World War II,
was among the speakers at the Memorial Day observance.
SMITHFIELD — U.S. Army Lt. Joseph Stancil of Smithfield was among the soldiers who took part in the Allied invasion of Normandy.
He was aboard one of 21 amphibious vehicles that arrived at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 — better known as D-Day.
“The 21 amphibious vehicles were loaded with artillery, men and supplies,” Reggie Parker told the audience at this year’s Memorial Day observance in Johnston County. “All of them were either swamped or sunk in treacherous surf.”
Many of the men aboard the vehicles perished; some drowned, others were killed by shelling or machine gun fire.
“Joseph was lucky,” said Parker, himself an Army veteran. “He came ashore with nothing but his uniform on. He had lost his 50 pounds of gear.”
Stancil was sent to Saint-Lo as a forward observer. His job was to locate enemy positions and direct artillery fire onto them.
“During his duty there, he was struck and wounded in the leg by a German shell,” Parker said. “There was nobody with him. He had to tourniquet his own leg and wait for help, which came 24 hours later.”
At a field hospital, surgeons amputated his leg, and he was cared for by Dorothy Stevens Montague, a family friend who happened to be there.
“On July 18, as Dorothy fed him dinner, he died of a blood clot,” Parker said. “He received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his heroism.”
Stancil was buried in the Normandy American Cemetery, which overlooks Omaha Beach. He was 33 years old.
Chris Underhill, who retired from the U.S. Army, paid tribute to Stancil and other World War II veterans. “When we speak of World War II, we often think about the might of a nation, the massive troop movements, the industrial strength of the nation,” he said. “But the true story of the war isn’t found in the history books. It is found in a single word, the word of yes.”
Before they were soldiers, World War II veterans were everyday people, Underhill said. “They had favorite songs, favorite foods, people they wanted to go home to see, plans for the future that didn’t include wearing of the uniform,” he said. “But when the world caught fire, they said yes.”
It wasn’t always a loud, boisterous yes, Underhill said. Sometimes it was a heavy, quiet yes whispered in a recruitment office.
“From the black sands of Iwo Jima to the cliffs of Normandy, they didn’t go because they loved war,” Underhill said. “They went because they loved home. They knew that if they didn’t stand up to the darkness of the tyranny, there would be no home to return to.”
That “yes” was the most selfless human act anyone can offer, Underhill said. “It is a promise that your safety, your family, your freedom were worth more to them than their own lives,” he said. “They died for a promise, the promise that democracy is a gift worth defending, even at the highest possible cost.”
The ranks of America’s greatest generation are thinning, Underhill said. “It falls on us to be their living memorial,” he said. “We owe them a debt that we can never fully repay with a single day of silence or a wreath. We can only pay it forward by being people worthy of their sacrifice.”
Sherrill Stevens, a 99-year-old World War II veteran, gave the ceremony’s invocation. He asked God to “bestow the gifts of comfort, hope and peace to family members and friends who have lost loved ones in the tragic costs of war.”
Page last updated on: July 14, 2026