Marcel Ramaet was among the first wave of soldiers to hit the beaches on D-Day.

His story, along with that of about 20 other others, was the focus of a new documentary detailing the experience of Chelsea area World War II Veterans.

A special screening took place Monday at the Chelsea Retirement Community. Many of the veterans who appeared in the film got their first look at it.

“I said a lot of Hail Marys,” Ramaet said, recalling the horror of the D-Day battle.

Fear and excitement were just two of the many emotions expressed by the men and women who told their personal stories in the documentary. Some recalled their eagerness to serve their country.

“Many of us were ready to go,” said George Winans.

For some that meant a standing-room-only bus ride to Detroit to enlist.

After enlistment, many of the new servicemen spent months at boot camp before they were given their assignments overseas.

“There were a lot of shots and a lot of calisthenics," said Phil Hume. "I think they kept us there that long to get all the shots in us.”

For many, their final destination would remain a secret until they were already at sea. Some of the veterans were given a packet of information and told not to open it until they’d left dry land.

Many veterans recalled harrowing moments during battle.

Merle Barr said he was up to his chin in water after his ship “took a shell,” while Harold Dyer still has the shrapnel in his neck that he took during the War. “They said it would come out eventually, but it’s still there,” he said.

The documentary is the second in a community history project that’s a collaboration between the Chelsea District Library, the Chelsea Community Foundation and the Chelsea Area Historical Society. The first was about one-room schoolhouses. This installment is called "The Chelsea Community History Project: World War II Veterans."

“WWII was a devastating global war that defined a generation and helped shape the world into what it is today,” said Chelsea Mayor Jason Lindauer in his opening remarks before the screening. “The battles, the victories, the tragedies and the costs of the war are almost beyond comprehension. Every person in every American town, large and small, was affected and changed by this war.

“I salute all those who stood up and fought in the greatest and most terrible war in human history as well as those at home who worked and sacrificed for the soldiers overseas,” Lindauer said.

“Across the United States, as well as here in Chelsea, the farmer and the banker’s son, the factory worker and the elected official stood side by side with the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in the field,” he continued. “By the end of the war, America had nearly 13 million men and 250,000 women in uniform.”

About 25 veterans and their families were interviewed and about 20 of those were included in the 90-minute film that was shot and produced by Video Farm Productions, owned by Rob and Carolann Coelius of Chelsea. All the veterans included in the film were given a free DVD copy of the documentary.

Many of the interviews were conducted by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds, who will soon publish a book about the Chelsea area veterans titled “A Village at War: A Collection of WWII Stories.”

For more information go to the project's website where there are photographs, the individual interviews that went into the making of the film as well as the film itself.

Lisa Allmendinger is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lallmendinger@sbcglobal.net. For more Chelsea stories, visit our Chelsea page.