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Ken Moore | D-Day medic, 90

Ken Moore, 90, who in the middle of one of World War II's bloodiest battles, the 1944 D-Day invasion of western Europe, cared for dozens of wounded soldiers from both sides, died Dec. 7 in a hospital in Sonoma, Calif. The cause was congestive heart failure, said his son, Francis.

Ken Moore, 90, who in the middle of one of World War II's bloodiest battles, the 1944 D-Day invasion of western Europe, cared for dozens of wounded soldiers from both sides, died Dec. 7 in a hospital in Sonoma, Calif. The cause was congestive heart failure, said his son, Francis.

In a village church in France, two U.S. Army medics - Mr. Moore and Bob Wright - administered aid to dozens of wounded soldiers, not just to Americans, but also to Germans. Mortar blasts rocked the building, but the medics refused to leave, even when told enemy forces were about to overrun the village.

The stone church, in the village of Angoville-au-Plain, commemorates the medics' actions with a monument on the edge of an adjoining cemetery.

In the 2013 public television documentary Eagles of Mercy, Mr. Moore said he was astonished that "Bob and I, just a couple of privates in the service," received such honors.

In all, Mr. Moore and Wright treated more than 80 soldiers, including about a dozen Germans. They were awarded Silver Star medals for their actions, and both served in other battles, including the Battle of the Bulge.

After the war, Mr. Moore returned to California and worked for Chevron as an area representative. He eventually owned several gas stations until the mid-1980s, when back problems forced him into retirement.

He occasionally returned to Angoville-au-Plain for ceremonies commemorating his and Wright's actions on D-Day.

"I think the reason it's gotten attention now is that we weren't involved in killing, we weren't trigger pullers," he said in the film.

"I tell my grandchildren that my role in the war was sort of as an observer," he said in the film. "I wasn't a rifleman killing people, and I was there in one of the big historical events of our century."

- Los Angeles Times