Amongst Gwynn’s history of heroism was his participation in D-Day, June 6, 1944 – something he has long celebrated as his second birthday, noting it is “because I survived D-Day.”

Gwynn joined the military armed forces in 1940 and became an Army ranger in April 1943. In 1943, Gwynn’s unit was sent to England.

He has taken part in many significant battles, including the Normandy invasion. The Battle of Normandy resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control.

Codenamed Operation Overlord, the fight began on June 6, 1944. On that day, about 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the greatly fortified coast of France’s Normandy region.

By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring, the Allies had defeated the Germans.

Gwynn also took part in the Battle of the Bulge, which took place from Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 25, 1945, and was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. He made it to the Elbe River near the end of the war, and that’s where he was on May 8, 1945 – Victory in Europe Day.

While he returned state-side in November 1945, he would return to action a short five years later as in 1950, he joined the fighting in Korea. There, he participated in the Battle of Inchon, a fight in the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations Command supporting South Korea.

His bravery earned him multiple awards, including 12 Purple Hearts, the Silver Star, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Bronze Star, the Combat Badge, the Prisoner of War Medal and the Distinguished Service Cross. He has also earned The Legion of Honour, the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte.