Edmund J Kapica, Hot Springs. Edmund Kapica was drafted in the army in in Chicago in 1943 and he was eventually signed as an amphibious combat engineer to the 348th combat engineer battalion on June 6th 1944 sound familiar he was aboard a 30 man landing craft on the 1st wave to Omaha beach struggled onto the beach with soldiers falling from the machine gunfire all around him when he got to the beach he struggled and exposed himself to German fire three times from an embankment in order to clear the beach of mines and demolition charges and to build foxholes for the oncoming troops for protection he improvised foxholes of any kind so that fellow soldiers landing on the beach could find any type of cover from June to September he worked on Omaha beach clearing it in the fall of 44 the Germans launched a counterattack called the battle of the bulge and private Kapica was ordered to join the 101st infantry legend on the morning of January 24th 1945 his squad advanced towards the Germans only to be ambushed by German machine gunfire his squad was cut down and he was severely wounded in the upper left arm the right hand his left collarbone and his right knee and hip somehow he burrowed into the deep snow shielded by the bodies of his dead companions he was unconscious that evening when the steam of his breath was seen rising from the pile of frozen bodies he was discovered among his awards of the bronze star medal for meritorious achievement and ground combat the Purple Heart medal combat infantryman badge and the French order of the legion of honor.