The last WWII vets converge on Normandy for D-Day, fallen friends to cement their legacy
Some of the last surviving veterans of the D-Day invasion made a pilgrimage to the Normandy beaches in northern France this week for the 80th anniversary of the 1944 invasion that helped bring about the end of World War II.
American veterans began gathering at Omaha and Utah Beaches this week to remember their comrades who were killed there that June 6 morning — and to caution others not to forget what their sacrifice was for.
“There are things worth fighting for. Although I wish there was another way to do it than to try to kill each other.” said 99-year-old Walter Stitt. “But sometimes you’re called upon to do something and you just do it. You know? That’s it. These people looked death in the face and just kept right on coming.”
“All those young men that never had a chance to go home and find a love of their life and hold their children in their arms,” said Stitt, who served in a tank when he was just 19.
The ceremonies kicked off with a reenactment of the events that preceded the invasion – when allied paratroopers jumped into France behind Nazi lines in the dark of night and began chipping away at German defenses.
On Sunday a fleet of WWII-era C-47 transport planes flew over the English Channel and dropped a load of 70 modern-day paratroopers as a crowd thousands-strong cheered and period music from Glenn Miller and Edith Piaf played on.
Two of the planes, named “That’s All, Brother” and “Placid Lassie,” themselves participated in the invasion 80 years ago.
More jumps took place on Tuesday – including a group of British paratroopers who were met by French customs agents and asked to present their papers before continuing on into the country, footage posted on X showed.
Of the more than 23,000 allied paratroopers and 132,000 troops who crossed the English Channel into France on D-Day, over 4,400 were killed – 2,500 of whom were Americans.
“It looked like you could walk across the Channel using boats as stepping stones,” said 100-year-old Rober Pedigo, who was a nose-gunner in a B-24 bomber on D-Day.
By the end of the Normandy Campaign, at least 73,000 allied troops had been killed and 153,000 were wounded.
About 20,000 civilians lost their lives, while between 4,000 and 9,000 German soldiers died.
This week’s commemoration might be the last major anniversary for D-Day veterans – many of whom are now over 100 years old and not expected to survive to see many more.
Of the 16.4 million Americans who served in WWII, only about 119,550 are still living, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
World leaders are expected to turn out this week to join the festivities, including President Biden and French President Emmanual Macron who have already arrived in Normandy.
Also present will be the marching band from New Jersey’s Raritan High School, who will perform the Star Spangled Banner and Hymn to the Fallen at a Thursday ceremony at the Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial, where 4,404 people who died in the invasion are buried.
President Biden is expected to attend the ceremony when the band plays, according to NJ.com.
“I never thought I’d be doing something like this. I’m grateful to have the opportunity,” said trumpet player Matthew Magri, whose great grandfather Frank Daniello survived D-Day.
Veteran Bob Gibson, 100, was barely older than many of those students when he landed on Utah Beach – and remembered more than a few their age who didn’t live to see June 7.
“You don’t want other people to go through the same thing,” Bob Gibson said.
“Because I’ve seen a lot of these boys that never even made the beach, believe me. And we were all 18, 19 years old.”
With Post wires
