Gerald Heaney Gerald William Heaney ( January 29 , 1918 – June 22 , 2010 ) served for nearly forty years as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit , from his appointment by President Lyndon B . Johnson in November 1966 until his full retirement in August 2006 . Heaney ’ s career in public service began in 1941 , upon graduation from law school . He soon enlisted in the United States Army , volunteered for the U . S . Rangers , and soon became a second lieutenant in the 2nd Ranger Battalion . Heaney ’ s endurance as a judge was foretold by his endurance as a Ranger ; of the hundreds of members of the Second Ranger Battalion who landed at Normandy on the early hours of D - Day , Heaney was one of only three still on the front lines with the Rangers on VE Day . Between the end of World War II and his appointment to the federal bench , he rewrote the Free State of Bavaria ’ s labor laws , and was a valued political advisor and organizer for several liberal democratic politicians , including Hubert Humphrey , Adlai Stevenson , Orville Freeman , Eugene McCarthy , and Walter Mondale . As an appellate court judge , Heaney typically favored broad interpretations of the Bill of Rights and civil rights , labor and employment rights statutes . Personal background . Gerald Heaney was born in the farming community of Goodhue , in southeastern Minnesota , on January 29 , 1918 . He was one of seven children of a butcher ( William J . Heaney ) and his wife ( Johanna ( Ryan ) Heaney ) . Heaney ' s involvement in political campaigns began with the 1928 presidential election , when , as a ten - year - old , he assisted in posting campaign signs for New York Governor and Democratic Nominee Al Smith . Heaney came of age during the Great Depression . He attended the College ( now University ) of St . Thomas , then transferred to the University of Minnesota , where he received a bachelor ’ s degree in 1939 . Upon graduation he enrolled in the University of Minnesota Law School . Heaney received his law degree in 1941 , and then worked in the securities division of the Minnesota Department of Commerce . However , his legal career was soon interrupted by the United States ’ entry into World War II . Service in World War II . In 1942 , at age 24 , Heaney enlisted . After the United States Marines rejected him due to color blindness , he enlisted as a private in the United States Army . He then volunteered for the U . S . Rangers , and would soon be commissioned as a second lieutenant in Company C of the Second Ranger Battalion , then in intense training to serve as a spearhead in Operation Overlord , the Allied invasion of western Europe . Organizers of Operation Overlord decided that Ranger Company C would constitute Ranger “ Task Force B . ” Unlike Ranger Task Force A ( which scaled Pointe du Hoc , as depicted in " The Longest Day " ) and Ranger Task Force C ( which landed in Dog Green sector of Omaha Beach as depicted at the outset of " Saving Private Ryan " ) , the story of Task Force B on D - Day is lesser - known . In the first minutes of the invasion ’ s amphibious landing , Task Force B disembarked in “ Charlie ” sector of Omaha Beach . That sector was located at Omaha Beach ’ s far western end , where the beach abruptly terminates in a rocky promontory of 100 - foot cliffs called Pointe de la Percee . The Task Force ’ s mission included taking out the four German pillboxes at the top of the cliffs , as part of coordinated actions with Rangers ’ efforts to take the Vierville draw ( to the east ) and Pointe du Hoc ( to the west ) . In a Library of Congress oral history interview conducted by Congressman James Oberstar , Heaney recounted the first moments of the battle : " At 6 : 30 we arrived close to the beach . We could not quite get into the beach because of the obstacles that the Germans had placed under water and also had proximity bombs that would blow up ships . They were having trouble getting the vessels in , so they could not get to the beach , but they got into relatively shallow water . And the door went down on the landing craft , and the captain stood up and said , everyone ashore , and he was cut down by gunfire . And the first lieutenant stood up and said , everyone ashore , and he was cut down by gunfire . And then that left me , Second Lieutenant Gerald Heaney , in charge , and I looked up and said , we are not going out that door ; everybody over the side . " Unfortunately , the landing craft had stopped in water over the heads of the soldiers , most of whom were burdened down by packs and equipment . Only by cutting loose their equipment and then swimming to shore could most of them avoid drowning . Only half of the members of Task Force B reached the relative safety at the foot of the cliff . The Task Force ’ s preferred route to the high ground – through the Vierville draw in Dog Green sector – had quickly become a killing zone , forcing Task Force B to find a route directly up the face of the cliff . Without the London fire ladders that helped Task Force A to take Pointe du Hoc , and with most of their other climbing equipment at the bottom of the Channel , Task Force B ’ s surviving Rangers used bayonets thrust into the cliffs as footholds , and eventually reached the crest of Pointe de la Percee . There , control of the trenches surrounding the pillboxes switched back and forth between German and American forces for hours , further depleting the Company ’ s ammunition and manpower . By the end of the battle , Task Force B secured Charlie sector , but at great cost in lives . For his heroism on D - Day , Second Lieutenant Heaney was awarded the Silver Star . After D - Day , the Second Ranger Battalion served alongside regular infantry units in areas such as the Cherbourg peninsula ( in June – July 1944 ) , Brest ( in August – September 1944 ) , the Crozon peninsula ( September 1944 ) , LeFret ( September 1944 ) and the Hürtgen Forest ( in December 1944 ) . For his courage in battles after D - Day , Heaney was awarded a Bronze Star . By May 1945 , Heaney ’ s unit had reached so deeply into Axis - held territory that it crossed Germany ’ s pre - 1938 eastern border , entering areas of Bohemia that later would be turned over to Soviet control and become a part of Czechoslovakia ( now a part of the Czech Republic ) . There , as Germany ’ s surrender was imminent , Heaney – now a captain — was responsible for a poignant moment . American , British , and Soviet forces had met and were preparing for a flag - raising ceremony , when Heaney recognized that no American flag was available . Heaney went into a nearby village , found swatches of red , white and blue cloth , and seamstresses , and convinced them to create a 48 - star U . S . flag in time for the ceremony . That impromptu flag returned home with Captain Heaney , and serves as a cherished feature of many patriotic events in Duluth . Because of the Second Ranger Battalion ’ s extraordinary service , General Omar Bradley permitted them to return home as a group . Before returning , however , Heaney assisted the new government of Bavaria in West Germany to revise its labor laws , helping to organize a free trade movement . Heaney left the service in 1946 . Political and legal career . Upon his return to Minnesota , Heaney moved to Duluth , practicing labor law with the Lewis , Hammer , Heaney , Weyl and Halverson firm , and becoming deeply involved in activities of Minnesota ’ s Democratic - Farmer - Labor ( “ DFL ” ) Party . By 1948 , he soon found himself in the middle of a watershed year in the history that Party , as a new generation of young liberals led by future governor Orville Freeman and Minneapolis Mayor ( and U . S . Senate Candidate ) Hubert Humphrey wrested control of the Party away from supporters of third - party presidential candidate Henry Wallace , while at the same time building the foundation for a 30 - year political dynasty . Among that group , Heaney was considered “ one of the shrewdest politicians in Minnesota , ” and became a Democratic National Committeeman in 1955 . Heaney became involved in Adlai Stevenson ' s 1956 presidential campaign . In Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey ’ s unsuccessful run for the democratic presidential nomination in 1960 , Heaney served as a campaign manager . In 1964 he was appointed by the Minnesota Legislature to fill a vacancy on the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota . Heaney ’ s political career was not without its setbacks . In May 1960 , during the DFL convention , he was unseated as a member of the Democratic National Committee . Newspapers reported that “ his foes called him high - handed , arrogant and ruthless . ” In 1965 , the Minnesota Legislature ended his career as a university regent , even though he was an incumbent and the governor ’ s nominee for reappointment , and the Legislature had not failed to reappoint a regent for twelve years . His rejection was attributed to conservatives in the Legislature . Nomination to the Eighth Circuit . In 1966 Congress added a seat to the U . S . Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit . By then , former Minnesota Governor Orville Freeman was President Lyndon Johnson ’ s Secretary of Agriculture , and Freeman recommended to Johnson that he choose Heaney for the open seat . Freeman noted in his letter to President Johnson that Heaney was a close personal friend , had served as a Democratic National Committee member from Minnesota , was an excellent lawyer , and a supporter of Johnson ’ s Great Society program . He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 20 , 1966 , received his commission on November 3 , 1966 , and began serving in December 1966 . Service on the Eighth Circuit . The Heaney appointment was one of three by Johnson to the Eighth Circuit that collectively altered the balance of the court . Heaney , along with Johnson nominees Myron H . Bright of North Dakota and Donald P . Lay of Nebraska and Iowa , “ were more likely to vote for civil liberties claims and were more willing to accept an activist judiciary ( as well as more likely to publish dissents ) than their predecessors . ” Judges Heaney , Lay and Bright also shared a relative youthfulness at the time of appointment and a commitment to public service that led each of them to remain on the bench for many decades ; the three have served , collectively , over 120 years on the bench . Judge Heaney assumed senior status on December 31 , 1988 , but continued to serve as a senior judge , primarily in the Eighth Circuit but often by designation in other circuits , until August 2006 . According to Judge Bright , Judge Heaney hired the Eighth Circuit ’ s first woman law clerk ( Rebecca Knittle , in 1970 ) , and its first African - American law clerk ( Henry L . Jones , Jr . , later a U . S . Magistrate Judge in Little Rock , Arkansas ) . School desegregation in St . Louis , Missouri . During Heaney ’ s tenure on the Eighth Circuit , school desegregation suits arising in cities such as Little Rock , St . Louis and Kansas City were among the court ’ s most complex and lengthy proceedings . Judge Heaney played a particularly personal role in the St . Louis desegregation case , and wrote every appellate opinion in the case after 1980 . The case involved implementation of a voluntary city - county transfer plan , and eventually drew 13 , 000 black students to county schools from the city , which Heaney credits for an increase in the percentage of black students who graduated from high school and went on to college . In 2004 , after recusing himself from the St . Louis desegregation cases , Judge Heaney co - authored ( with Dr . Susan Uchitelle , a former law clerk ) , a book on segregation and desegregation in the St . Louis school systems entitled “ Unending Struggle : The Long Road to an Equal Education in St . Louis . ” Influential opinions . In " Chess v . Widmar " , 635 F . 2d 1310 , 1320 ( 8th Cir . 1980 ) , members of a religious student organization at the University of Missouri - Kansas City alleged that university officials violated their right to free exercise of religion under the First Amendment by refusing to grant them equal access to university facilities . Writing for the Eighth Circuit , Judge Heaney agreed , holding that once a university opens its facilities for certain groups , it must keep them open for all groups . The U . S . Supreme Court granted certiorari , and in " Widmar v . Vincent " , 454 U . S . 263 ( 1981 ) affirmed this ruling . In " Brenden v . Independent School District No . 742 " , 477 F . 2d 1292 , 1300 ( 8th Cir . 1973 ) , two female students who requested to participate in non - contact sports at schools that offered no varsity teams for females brought an action claiming that a state high school league rule prohibiting females from participating with males in interscholastic sports violated the Fourteenth Amendment ’ s Equal Protection Clause . Writing for the Court , Judge Heaney found the rule unconstitutional , holding that the activities were non - contact and the females displayed the ability to compete with males . In " U . S . v . City of Black Jack , Missouri " , 508 F . 2d 1179 ( 8th Cir . 1974 ) , cert . denied , 422 U . S . 1042 ( 1975 ) , the Eighth Circuit became one of the first U . S . Courts of Appeals to decide what standards should apply to challenges under the Civil Rights Act of 1968 , otherwise known as the Fair Housing Act , to zoning decisions that allegedly had a disproportionate impact on the ability of residents of segregated communities to move to desegregated communities . Writing for the court , Judge Heaney found that the City ’ s actions violated the Act because of its disparate impact on the ability of minority group residents of St . Louis to relocate to suburban Black Jack , and because Black Jack ’ s justification did not satisfy a rigorous standard . The Supreme Court declined to review the case , and for many years Judge Heaney ’ s analysis was cited approvingly by other federal courts interpreting the Act . In " Consolidated Freightways Corp . of Delaware v . Kassel " , 612 F . 2d 1064 ( 8th Cir . 1979 ) , aff ’ d , 450 U . S . 662 ( 1981 ) , Iowa ’ s prohibition of extra - long semitrailer trucks was alleged to unconstitutionally burden interstate commerce , in violation of what is known as the dormant Commerce Clause . the court upheld the claim and struck down the requirement . In the court ’ s opinion , Judge Heaney reasoned that , while “ some burdening of interstate commerce will be tolerated ” for the sake of safety , The Iowa regulation failed because it burdened interstate commerce and failed to directly protect a state safety interest . Two years later , the U . S . Supreme Court affirmed this ruling . Later activities . Gerald and Eleanor Heaney continued to live in Duluth , where he worked to raise money for scholarships for students attending the University of Minnesota - Duluth . Free again to become involved in partisan politics , in late 2006 he volunteered at local DFL Party campaign offices , and in March 2007 endorsed John Edwards ' bid for the 2008 Democratic nomination for president . In the Fall of 2007 he served as co - chair of Don Ness ' s successful campaign for mayor of Duluth . Honors . The federal courthouse and customhouse in Duluth , and residence hall at the University of Minnesota - Duluth , are named in Heaney ' s honor . In 2001 he received an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree for Public Service from the University of Minnesota - Duluth .