World War II Vets Return to Normandy on 80th Anniversary of D-Day
Thursday (June 6) is the 80th anniversary of the June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France. Not many people who were part of the invasion are still with us to describe the experience. But, some World War II vets are still here, and on Thursday, veterans from the U.S., Britain and Canada, as well as various others, once again landed on the beaches of Normandy to commemorate this historic day and what it means.
World War II Vets Return to Normandy
ABC News anchor David Muir is in Normandy this week to welcome World War II vets on the 80th anniversary of D-Day. He also interviewed a few surviving veterans, who are in their upper 90s or early 100s. U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Irving Locker was among the men Muir interviewed. “Everybody was scared because of the long life we figured we were going to have could be ended with one bullet or one B or one mine,” Locker said. “I’ve never seen as many dead men on the beaches as I’ve ever seen.” Another one of the World War II vets, Harold McMurran, added, “People say, how did you get off that boat and go out on the beach? There was a job that had to be done. Somebody had to do it. We did it.”
Women veterans also returned to Normandy for 80th D-Day anniversary. The veterans of World War II are currently between the ages of 96 and 107, according to ABC News. In a separate interview they did with some of the surviving women who were involved, they discussed what that day means to the them. They spoke with 98-year-old Jeanne Gibson, who was part of the collection of women who were “Rosie the Riveters” and played a major role during World War II. She was just 18 years old when she became a “Rosie” and left college to take up a job as a welder in Seattle. These women put off getting an education or getting married and starting a family to take essential jobs for the war effort. “It takes somebody who can say ‘I can do it’ to do it,” Gibson told them in the interview. Gibson added that she currently still works and gives tours at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California. She’s definitely a great example for the younger generation of women.
Hearing and seeing what these brave men and women went up against on D-Day brings a tear to my eye. I’m forever grateful for their sacrifices and bravery, and my prayers will always be with them. Watch the ABC News video with some veteran interviews below.
