Overview
- Several hundred people attended the Friday service in Bayeux Cathedral, where U.S. soldiers and the American anthem accompanied the procession.
- Shay was laid to rest in the municipal cemetery of Saint‑Laurent‑sur‑Mer, a short distance from the Omaha Beach American cemetery.
- France’s deputy armed forces minister, Alice Rufo, paid tribute on X, saluting his role landing at Omaha Beach with his brothers‑in‑arms.
- A teenage medic with the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, he rescued numerous wounded under heavy fire on June 6, 1944, earning the Silver Star before being captured in Germany in March 1945.
- Living in Normandy in recent years, he held the Légion d’honneur, and a 2017 sculpture at Saint‑Laurent‑sur‑Mer honors the Native American servicemen who landed on D‑Day.