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                72 Years On

Vets, Families Remember Normandy D-Day Landings

American E6 soldier, John, from Virginia Beach, whose grand-father was a pilot in Canadian Air Force during WWII, pays respect in the Colleville American military
cemetery, in Colleville sur Mer, western France. D-Day marked the start of a Europe invasion, as many thousands of Allied troops began landing on the beaches of
Normandy in northern France in 1944 at the start of a major offensive against the Nazi German forces, an offensive which cost the lives of many thousands.

                                                                                                                                                                                                         (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

FRANCOIS MORI                  in Stalingrad in the east.      Beach. Visiting the D-Day          respects. A group of Ger-       ied by French villagers, but
Associated Press               Henry Breton of Augusta,        beaches is a homecoming            mans wrote the name of a        his wife didn’t find out what
COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER,            Maine, was among the            of sorts: Breton’s ancestors       regiment on the sand as a       happened for more than
France (AP) — Proud veter-     shrinking number of D-Day       came to North America              group of Spanish history en-    60 years.
ans in their 90s and families  survivors to make it to Nor-    from Brittany in the 18th cen-     thusiasts dressed as D-Day      “She never remarried,” said
of fallen soldiers are com-    mandy for Monday’s an-          tury, and during the war he        participants walked near-       Simon, who had an uncle
memorating the epochal         niversary. Speaking at the      met a Belgian woman who            by. Peggy Harris of Vernon,     who landed on Utah Beach
D-Day invasion of Nor-         American Cemetery at            was his wife for 62 years un-      Texas, was unable to come       and whose own husband
mandy 72 years ago that        Colleville-sur-Mer, Breton      til her death in 2009. Some        this year to visit the grave    fought in Vietnam. “It’s a
helped the Allies vanquish     recalled landing in the sec-    veterans expressed disap-          of her husband, 1st Lt. Billie  real love story.”
Hitler.                        ond wave of boats, 35 min-      pointment that Monday’s            D. Harris. But a good friend,   U.S. Army Air Corps vet-
They held small ceremonies     utes after the first, with the  ceremonies were low-key,           Janie Simon, brought flow-      eran Hartley Baird from
and moments of remem-          106th Infantry Division. “We    especially compared with           ers and a sign asking visi-     Pittsburgh sailed into Nor-
brance Monday along            were off target,” he said,      a sweeping ceremony for            tors to email photos of the     mandy in August 1944 and
the wide beaches and           describing the German           the 70th anniversary two           gravesite to his widow.         fought to liberate France
cliffs where thousands of      counterattack, and ensu-        years ago involving several        “She feels blessed that         from the Nazis.
U.S., British, Canadian and    ing violence and valor he       world leaders.                     even though she lost Billie in  “I wouldn’t have survived
French troops landed as        experienced at the Battle       Breton, who describes him-         this quest for freedom, peo-    if the men hadn’t cleared
dawn was breaking June         of the Bulge in Belgium.        self as “91 and a half,” is        ple come here. That gives       the way on D-Day,” he
6, 1944. It was a pivotal mo-  “It brings back so many         hoping this visit isn’t his last.  her great comfort,” Simon       said at the American Cem-
ment in World War II, weak-    memories,” he said, stand-      “I would like to be here on        said from the gravesite.        etery, where he came to
ening the Nazis’ hold on       ing amid rows and rows of       the 75th.”                         Harris landed in Norman-        pay homage to “the true
Western Europe after they      white crosses at the cem-       People of many nationali-          dy on D-Day, was shot to        heroes, those that are bur-
suffered a punishing defeat    etery overlooking Omaha         ties came Monday to pay            death days later and bur-       ied here.”q