My father was a medic in WWII. Because he died of a brain tumor when I was four, and his records were lost in the fire at the St. Louis records center, I can't tell you too much about his service. He was promoted to 2nd Lt. in the field. He helped liberate one of the concentration camps, which was especially hard for him because his grandparents were German.
My husband's father landed at Normandy on D-Day. He and a Native American were the only two on the craft who didn't drown because they were carrying illegal knifes and were able to cut off their packs. He never forgave himself for surviving. He was a "Bastard of Bastonge" and later helped to liberate the concentration camp at Dachau. There, he saw his best friend beheaded by enemy machine gun fire. He went AWOL for a while, and the Army removed his Silver Star. He threw his other awards after the war anyway. He said he didn't deserve them--the guys who died did.
Concord,, NC