On D-Day, He Jumped First

June 6th, 1944, one man stepped out of a blacked-out plane into the darkness over Normandy — and became the first American soldier to set foot in Nazi-occupied France. His name was Captain Frank Lillyman, and he led the very first team of Pathfinders to jump ahead of the D-Day invasion. This is the true story of the D-Day Pathfinders — the volunteers who jumped an hour ahead of the main invasion to mark the drop zones for six and a half thousand paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division. Without them, the entire airborne assault would have come down blind. From the low-level flight over the invasion fleet, to the cows in the dark, to the machine-gun ambush, the marked field, the glider landings at Hiesville, and the wound that took him out of the fight — this is the forgotten story of the man they called the first man in France, and the price he paid for the fame that followed. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 📌 If you enjoyed this, please LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE it with someone who loves military history. It genuinely helps the channel grow. 🔔 SUBSCRIBE for more true stories from World War II.