So when Bill Wilch was invited to attend his first Kentucky Derby last Saturday, he stuffed a picture of his wife in his pocket and everywhere he went — from the hotel in Lexington, to the restaurants, to Millionaires Row at Churchill — he placed it on the table for all to see.
He was known as “the guy with the picture.” Wives stopped by, elbowed their husbands, and asked: “Why can’t you be like that? Look at that man.”
Wilch, 89, of Middletown, served as a rifleman in the Army’s 29th Infantry Division. He was joined at the Derby by Alan Reeves, 91, who served in the Army’s Supreme Command under Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower; J.J. Witmeyer, 92, who served in the 314th Infantry Regiment and won two Purple Hearts; and Ray Woods, 90, who served as a Navy radar man on the USS O’Brien.
The four veterans of World War II, all involved in the Invasion of Normandy by Allied forces in 1944, visited Churchill Downs at the invitation of Rick Porter, who owns the colt Normandy Invasion. For most of his 20 years in the business, Porter has been naming horses to honor veterans. He was inspired by a trip he made to France in 1994, on the 50th anniversary of the invasion, to name his top colt in its honor last year.
Reeves, a San Diego resident, curious about the name, contacted Porter. That led to Porter inviting Reeves and the other three veterans to the Derby.
“These guys are highly decorated,” Porter said. “It’s one of the great pleasures of my life to bring them here and see how happy they are to be here and know these guys helped give us our freedom.”
During the visit, Wilch learned that Woods, of Ottawa, Ohio, was on the ship that provided “heavy fire power” during the invasion.
“They saved our rears,” Wilch said.
Wilch was accompanied on the trip by his son, Steve, 62, one of his five children. Steve called watching the Derby “unbelievable” and said he always will cherish the interaction the WWII veterans had among themselves.
“It was amazing,” Steve said.
And it nearly had a storybook ending. Normandy Invasion, who led at the top of the stretch, finished fourth in the Derby, behind Orb, Golden Soul and Revolutionary. When the Derby was over, Wilch said, the wife of the owner told him she was so impressed by his love of his wife that if they ever have a filly, her name will be Mary Rita.
Days after the Derby, Wilch still can’t believe what happened over the weekend, how he was treated like “royalty,” he said.
“I’m still sitting here trying to figure out if it really happened or not,” Wilch said Tuesday afternoon from his home. “It was the most amazing thing.”
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