Remembering and honoring the heroics of soldiers on D-Day
Eighty-one years after Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, the heroics and sacrifices of those soldiers are remembered and honored.
The D-Day invasion, the largest seaborne invasion in history, led to the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II. Many of those who fought have since passed away, leaving their legacy to new generations.
'It's important to remember that day and because it's sort of the focus point… it's also the many lives that were lost on the day and in the days to follow to free Europe,' said Bill Welch, Vice President of Erie County Memorial Park.
Bill Welch spoke in front of the Erie County World War II Memorial, dedicated to the 727 Erie County soldiers who died during the war.
Welch expressed concern about whether the memory of these sacrifices is fading, noting that it is up to current generations to educate those who follow about the importance of these sacrifices.
Vietnam veteran Mike Rohan emphasized the importance of remembering those who fought for the country long before he was born, highlighting the enduring significance of their actions.
As the years pass, the responsibility to remember and honor the sacrifices made on D-Day falls to future generations, ensuring that the lessons and legacy of those who fought continue to be recognized.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WJET/WFXP. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WJET/WFXP staff before being published.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
Celebration to commemorate WWII at Armed Forces Day
A celebration is taking place later this week to commemorate the end of World War II. Lydiard Park will welcome people on Saturday, June 28, to appreciate the efforts of the armed forces community and mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The free event is being hosted by Swindon Borough Council, with support from local armed forces organisations, and takes place at the end of a week of national tribute starting on Monday, June 23. Running from 11am to 4pm, Swindon's Armed Forces Day will be filled with entertainment for all ages, featuring community stalls, a funfair, dynamic dance troupe performances, and a mini concert. Read more: Wiltshire police officer Damien Penman receives British Empire Medal The Armed Forces Day flag will be raised outside the Civic Offices in Euclid Street at 11am on Monday, June 24, marking the start of the national celebrations across the UK and members of the public are welcome to attend to show their support. Serving armed forces personnel, veterans, and service families from around the UK will come together in Lydiard Park for the day. The day is also a highly anticipated opportunity for communities to say 'thank you' to armed forces personnel past, present, and future. The service will feature a cadet parade, gun salute, a C-130 flypast, and live music.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
German camp memorial offers Russian tour to mark 'forgotten victims'
A memorial for the Nazi-era concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen in northern Germany is set to offer a guided tour in Russian on Sunday to commemorate the site's "forgotten victims" from the Soviet Union. The camp, which was liberated by the British Army in April 1945, is well known as the place where Jewish schoolgirl Anne Frank died during World War II. However, it also included some 20,000 Soviet prisoners of war who were forced to work in the camp after July 1941. With insufficient accommodation available, the men lived in open fields and sought shelter in makeshift huts and caves. More than 14,000 of them died of cold, hunger and disease in the winter of 1941-42 alone. To mark the 84th anniversary of Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, a 90-minute tour is to be offered in German and Russian, leading from the memorial site to the nearby prisoner of war cemetery. There are 19,580 people buried in the cemetery, with historian Katja Seybold working on creating a list of the names of those who died. Almost 13,000 of the names have been identified, the researcher said. Interviews with surviving prisoners of war can be listened to at the Bergen-Belsen Documentation Centre. Interest in the fate of the prisoners of war is growing, said Seybold. Many Ukrainians who have fled to Germany in recent years have also visited the memorial and the cemetery. The prisoner of war camp closed three months before the site's liberation by the British Army. According to Seybold, this may explain why the fate of the prisoners of war was left untold for so long. A total of some 70,000 people lost their lives at Bergen-Belsen. Around 120,000 men, women and children were interned in the concentration camp between 1943 and 1945, around 52,000 of whom died.
3 days ago
Japan's royal couple mourn A-bomb victims ahead of Hiroshima's 80th anniversary
TOKYO -- Japan's Emperor Naruhito paid respects to atomic bombing victims in Hiroshima as the city marks the 80th anniversary of the tragedy later this year. Naruhito, accompanied by his wife, Empress Masako, bowed deeply at the cenotaph for the atomic bombing victims and offered bouquets of white flowers. The atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroyed the city, killing 140,000 people. A second bomb dropped three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century aggression in Asia. Naruhito has repeatedly stressed the importance to remember and keep telling the tragedy of the war to younger generations. Naruhito and Masako were also to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to observe exhibits, including those featuring Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots organization awarded last year's Nobel Peace Prize. The couple were to meet atomic bombing survivors, or hibakusha, and those born after the war and trained to tell the stories on behalf of those who can no longer do so. Naruhito is making his third trip to mourn the war dead this year. In April, the couple visited Iwo Jima to pay tribute to about 20,000 Japanese and nearly 7,000 U.S. Marines killed in the Battle of Iwo Jima, fought from Feb. 19 to March 26, 1945. Earlier this month, Naruhito also visited Okinawa to mourn about 188,000 Japanese, half of them Okinawan civilians, and about 12,000 Americans, killed in the Battle of Okinawa. Naruhito accompanied his daughter, Princess Aiko, underscoring his wish that she would learn the hardships of the Okinawan people and share their stories with younger generations.
