Henry Parham was at U.S. Army veteran of World War II who was the last known living member of the only all-Black unit to land on the beach at Normandy on D-Day.Parham was drafted into the U.S.
Army at age 21, joining the segregated 320th Anti-Aircraft Barrage Balloon Battalion. His first combat experience was on D-Day.
His unit was responsible for raising and maintaining barrage balloons. These helium-filled balloons were deployed above the beach to force German bombers to fly at higher altitudes, where it was harder for them to attack Allied troops below.
The balloons also small explosives, and when German planes tried to fly lower, they could become ensnared in the cables while the explosives damaged their wings and propellers.
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