In 2024, more than 60 U.S. WWII Veterans are expected to attend the 80th anniversary. Last Friday, these heroes flew directly from Dallas to an airport in Paris:
American Airlines has announced it will start veteran flights for the ceremonies this week.
A group of six veterans honoring World War II veterans from Dallas includes six Medal of Honor recipients from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam.
There are two Rosie the Riveters available that represent women who worked in shipbuilding and factories during the Second World War.
The itinerary of the Normandy trip is jam-packed with sights and events, even before they depart Paris:
The group will take part in a ceremony at the Suresnes American Cemetery to lay a wreath. The group will also visit Eiffel Tower and participate in Le Ravivage de la Flamme, a daily ceremony. This ceremony honours French servicemen that have fallen on the Arc de triomphe.
Events scheduled to take place in Normandy itself will “include wreath-laying ceremonies on Omaha and Utah Beaches, two of the landing sites for the Allied forces.” Doubtless, some of the over 4,400 Allied military members (about 2,500 of them Americans) who lost their lives–and the over 5,000 wounded–in the crucial June 6, 1944, operation will be on the veterans’ minds and close to their hearts.
Keep your hanky close by. At the Charles De Gaulle Airport, the French welcomed the veterans as heroes.
Watch:
Some of the last living US veterans are welcomed by the French as they land at Paris CDG airport ahead of commemorations of the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Glory and honour to theses heroes! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/fnIrFRsdn1
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) June 2, 2024
Last but not the least, Philippe Etienne, who is the chairman of Liberation Mission that organized the D-Day commemoration this year spoke for all of us when he told AP it was important to keep making efforts like this flight: “We will never forget.” ” We must tell them. “