Dallas — More than 60 World War II veterans are set to depart Dallas for France on Friday to take part in ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
American Airlines said the group, whose ages range from 96 to 107, will first fly them to Paris, one of several flights that will bring veterans to France for the memorial.
The group will take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Suresnes American Military Cemetery, visit the Eiffel Tower and take part in the daily ceremony known as the “Carnage of Fire” at the Arc de Triomphe to commemorate French military personnel killed in action.
They will then travel to Normandy to take part in events including wreath-laying ceremonies at Omaha Beach and Utah Beach, two of the sites of the Allied landings.
On June 6, 1944, approximately 160,000 Allied soldiers, including 73,000 Americans, landed in Normandy in a massive amphibious operation intended to break through heavily fortified German defenses and begin the liberation of Western Europe.
On D-Day, 4,414 Allied soldiers were killed, including 2,501 Americans, and over 5,000 were wounded.
The group traveling from Dallas includes six Medal of Honor recipients from the Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam wars who want to honor World War II veterans.
There are also two statues of “Rosie the Riveter,” representing the women who worked in factories and shipyards during the war.
Hundreds of thousands of Allied women also served in important non-combat roles, such as codebreakers, ship navigators, radar operators, and cartographers.
The day is marked in France with a variety of ceremonies to give thanks to the veterans who undertook the long journey across the Atlantic despite their age, fatigue and physical challenges.
“We will never forget, and we must tell them,” Philippe Etienne, president of the Liberation Mission, which is organizing the memorial, told The Associated Press.