D-Day vet Russell Pickett — the last survivor of “suicide wave“ at Omaha Beach

Pfc. Russell Pickett (Company A, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division, Army National Guard) was in the first wave of attack against Omaha Beach during Operation Neptune — better known as D-Day — on June 6, 1944. A flamethrower whose landing craft was hit on approach, Pickett is the last-known survivor of that first-wave company, dubbed the “suicide wave.“ After recovering from his D-Day injuries, Pickett went on to fight on the front lines of mainland Europe, including in the Battles of Saint-Lô, Vire, and Brest. At Saint-Lô, he was injured by German grenade, and an artillery round at Brest put him in an English hospital for the remainder of the war. Pickett was extremely generous in talking with me in June 2019 at his Tennessee home for a magazine article shortly after returning from France for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. There, President Trump recognized him at a ceremony, calling him a “tough guy.“