The images we have of D-Day are often of the nightmare of battle on the beaches that soldiers encountered. But before these soldiers faced that hell, gliders carrying supplies and weapons descended upon Normandy.

Among the very first to land in Nazi-occupied territory was a stunt pilot from Lafayette. His name was Mike Murphy and the news of his role in the invasion was front page news in the Journal & Courier a day after the mission and was later called "The Lafayette hero" in an article bursting with community pride.

Each day of the invasion emphasizes anew the all-important role of our troop carrier units commanded by such intrepid leaders as the smiling "Mike" ... he and his fellow-soldiers specially trained and hardened, as well as the paratroopers from the tow planes ... are bringing undying glory to our troop carrier command.

The 'Flying Irishman' of Lafayette was known for aeronautical acrobatics

Born in Rossville, Illinois, Murphy's family moved to Montgomery County in Indiana when he was child and later, onto Lafayette. At age 20, he took up flying, learning on a WWI-era plane under Captain Lawrence Aretz, the first manager of the Purdue Airport, according to the Kokomo Tribune.

By the 1930s, Murphy was running an airport in Kokomo and had made a name for himself in aeronautical acrobatics as "The Flying Irishman" at shows from Florida to Missouri to crowds of more than 10,000 in Greater Lafayette. At great speeds, he could land a plane upside down and even take off from and land on a moving a car.

"He was the ace of the stunt pilots," Kokomo airport operator Robert Shank told the Journal & Courier in 1944. "He was a natural."

Training glider pilots for D-Day

He won awards for his flying but once WWII began, he was recruited to train glider pilots. But midway through the conflict, the Army began considering disbanding the use of gliders, who had gained an unpopular nickname: "Flying coffins."

In a creative presentation to military officials, Tippecanoe County Historical Association Pete Bill says he showcased the plane's stealth abilities and secured their continued use by the military.

Murphy became a senior US Army Air Force glider pilot and even though he wasn't scheduled to participate in the mission, he said he wanted a look at how the pilots he had trained performed in combat on the D-Day mission, according to an account of the day by US Air Force Major Leon B. Spencer.

Aboard his plane, Murphy carried gasoline, communications equipment, a jeep, and three individuals: 2nd Lt. John M. Butler of the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing as a copilot and Brigadier General Don F. Pratt and his personal assistant as passengers.

The priority was not the comfort of those traveling.

“It was like riding inside a bass drum,” WWII glider pilot Bob Swenson recalled in an interview with the Seattle Times. “It was just that fabric hull around a metal frame, no insulation. There was all this noise of the air going from side to side.”

Crash landing in Nazi-occupied territory

Under cover of darkness, Murphy lead more than 400 of gliders in the middle of the night flying at 2,000 feet across the English Channel. Once they approached land, the tow plane released the gliders and they began their descent around 4:00 a.m. local time Once they were 600 feet above the ground, German gunners took note. One glider reportedly took 94 hits, according to Spencer, but no one on board was hit.

"We were caught in a pretty heavy crossfire while still in the air," Murphy later told the Indianapolis Star.

Murphy was to guide the planes to land just over 7 miles from Utah Beach. Between the pilot and co-pilot, both were exhausted from trying to control the path of an overweight plane. Their glider was said to be overloaded by 1,000 pounds.

With another plane landed just barely ahead of him, Murphy tried to pull up to slow his plane but ended up landing far faster than what a glider in those conditions should have. His options, were, after all, limited.

"It was rather difficult for glider pilots inasmuch as we were landing in the middle of the enemy, following the paratrooper and we couldn't use position lights or landing lights," Murphy said.

He pressed hard on the brakes, but the dew covered grass on a downhill slope increased the plane's momentum and sent it into massive hedgerow trees at a reported speed of 50 mph, according to Spencer.

When the plane came to a halt, Murphy's co-pilot and the General were both dead, likely from blunt force trauma. Lt. May, the General's assistant, escaped with just a bruise. Murphy had sustained two broken legs and injured his knee. He managed to get himself out of the plane, dropping into a ditch he said he stayed in until nightfall.

"I had a rifle and .45 and I passed the time knocking off any Germans that came within range," he told the press later that month.

Getting back home again in Indiana

Murphy's injuries were reported to be his first in more than 7,000 hours of flying. He was taken to nearby chateau and later evacuated from that building on June 9 before a German bomb landed on the chateau, killing 11 people and injuring 15, according to Spencer.

He was flown home to Indiana where he underwent surgery and rehabilitation at Billings General Hospital at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis. The area has since been converted into Fort Harrison State Park.

Despite the tragic loss of life aboard his plane, Murphy noted what he felt was the success of the mission, saying airborne divisions "secured and blew up big gun positions, effected roadblocks and held the Germans off while the other boys came over the beaches," according to 1944 interview in the Indianapolis Star.

Murphy depicted in 'Saving Private Ryan'

While Murphy wasn't carrying a paratrooper like the one portrayed by Matt Damon in the 1998 movie "Saving Private Ryan," Murphy is loosely depicted as 2nd Lt. DeWindt. The character tells Tom Hanks, who plays a fictional Captain John Miller, that he escaped without incident but like the real Murphy, had two people onboard his glider that died in a similar crash.

"I nearly broke both my arms trying to keep her level and when we released, you know, I cut as hard as I could," DeWindt recounts in the film. "Tried to gain some altitude to try to keep it from stalling. We came down like a (expletive) meteor."

In real life, Murphy was later awarded the Legion of Merit, the Air Medal and Purple Heart for his service. He returned to public life to run a small airport in Ohio. He died in 1981 at the age of 74.

The Tippecanoe County Historical Association's monthly Show & Tell Lecture will discuss Mike Murphy. The lecture, D-Day and the Flying Irishman of Lafayette" will take place at the TCHA History Center at the corner of 6th and Columbia between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11.

Nate Chute is a producer with the USA Today Network. Follow him on Twitter at @nchute.