In June 1984, a group of American veterans and their families traveled to the coast of Normandy and to London to commemorate the events that occurred 40 years before on D-Day. The veterans reflect on the events, and family members and friends express gratitude for their heroism.
In France, the group visits the US Military Cemetery at Omaha Beach. Two days later, this will be the site where the official ceremony marking the 40th Anniversary of D-Day will be held. A wreath was laid honoring the Carolinians who died during the Normandy Invasion. Sainte-Mère-Église. was the first town freed by the Americans and some of the first Americans to die died there.
From Fort Bragg, NC, the 82nd Airborne came to commemorate the anniversary. German veterans from the units that survived D-Day also came back to remember. Near the American cemetery at Omaha Beach is a cemetery filled with black granite crosses, many trees, and a large sculpture. It is the German cemetery. Members of the American 90th Division met with their former opponents to remember those lost on both sides.
The Anniversary of D-Day included President Mitterrand of France and President Reagan. D-Day marks the beginning of the Allied Invasion of Europe, and the Battle of the Bulge would test the Allies again.
For the veterans on this return, each village and road in Belgium had a story.