Capt. Leonard Schroeder Jr. was the first of about 21,000 4th Infantry Division soldiers to land on the Utah Beach in France.

He made the trip among nervous men in the dark, who prayed and told jokes, as they awaited the landing on Utah Beach, Maj. Gen. David Dolye said Thursday during a ceremony to remember their sacrifice.

While they landed well south of their intended destination, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., assistant division commander and the second person to set foot on the beach, was undaunted by the error.

"We'll start the war from here," Roosevelt said, in those tense moments.

From landing on the beach, they fought for 23 days with no rest, and despite their severe losses, their aggressive action was undeterred, Doyle said. Over the course of the war, the division suffered almost

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