To mark the anniversary of this moment of national pride, a team of Nexstar journalists spent months following threads that humanize the ordinary people who teamed up to achieve victory on this extraordinary mission. The result is a special called “D-Day: The Greatest Victory,” airing this week on all 117 Nexstar television markets nationwide.

You can see the full special for yourself in the player above. In addition to first-hand accounts of storming Utah Beach, you'll see segments on:

• A daughter who describes never meeting her father, who went off to war at 16 years old, too young to be drafted, but just old enough to lie about his age. 
• The families of the Bedford Boys, 20 young men who died within minutes of each other, share the stories of the impact in this small Virginia town. 
• The story of four civilian women who made a difference in the lives of allied troops in Europe, buried with them in the hallowed grounds of the Normandy American Cemetery. 
• First-hand accounts from the letters that made it from the warfront to the Homefront.
• The saga of the Niland Family from Tonawanda, New York, who lost two sons in the D-day Invasion. Two others fought and made it home heroes, scarred from the trauma of war. Their story is the inspiration for an Academy Award winning film and the inspiration for another young Niland, who is now following in the footsteps of his hero great uncles -- training to be a Navy Helicopter pilot.
• Deception is also part of the story of D-Day, as a secret non-combat unit tricked the Nazi's to strategically move Allied Forces.  This plan was made public in the mid-90s, but it was not until this spring that the surviving soldiers received the medal of honor.  
• But it's not all about the past: The program also brings viewers the story of a former football star who's formed a new team that takes care of veterans and returns them to the battlefields where they once fought. 

To understand what went into telling some of the most harrowing stories of WWII, Nexstar hosted a live, recorded conversation with the creators of the special. During the recording, WAVY-TV Anchor Marielena Balouris, Chief Photographer Jeff Myers and Nexstar Senior Vice President Jerry Walsh discussed filming some poignant segments of the special. You can watch that conversation in its entirety in the player below.

For even deeper exploration of Nexstar's D-Day reporting, please visit our dedicated D-Day Anniversary section, which includes additional journalism from across the U.S. and a timeline of the D-Day invasion.

The trip comes as the deadliest fighting on the continent since World War II continues in Ukraine and allied countries struggle to find ways to turn the tide against Russia, which has recently gained ground on the battlefield. It is also set against deepening cracks between the U.S. and many European allies over how to manage the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Ever-dwindling numbers of World War II veterans who have pilgrimaged back to France, and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that has dashed hopes that lives and cities wouldn’t again be laid to waste in Europe, are making the poignant anniversary of the June 6, 1944, Allied landings even more so.

The break of dawn eight decades after Allied troops waded ashore under hails of gunfire on five code-named beaches — Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword — kicked off a day of remembrance by Allied nations now standing together again behind Ukraine — and with World War II ally Russia not invited by host France. It cited Russia’s “war of aggression against Ukraine that has intensified in recent weeks” for the snub.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Normandy, France, to commemorate the anniversary of the D-Day invasion with Western leaders.

Zelenskyy said on X that he is going to attend important meetings aimed at strengthening his nation at war, and that he is honored to be participating in the D-Day commemoration with President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and others.

“This event and day serve as a reminder of the courage and determination demonstrated in the pursuit of freedom and democracy,” Zelenskyy said.

In the planning stages of Operation Overlord, Eisenhower and his staff looked for three factors from the environment. First, they prioritized a low tide at dawn, this would expose German beach obstacles; however, it would mean more beach for Allied troops to cover on foot.

Second was a full moon to provide paratroopers with added illumination on their jumps, as they were scheduled to drop into Normandy in the pre-dawn hours.

Lastly, clear and calm weather conditions would allow everything to operate smoothly.

This pointed towards an invasion on June 5, 1944.

“D-Day was essential. It was the path to victory,” said John Long, director of education at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia. “There wasn’t another alternative, if we’re going to defeat Nazi Germany, we have to land troops in France.”

Predicted weather in June was generally calm, considering the approaching summer season, however, a specific weather forecast from Captain James Stagg would prevent the D-Day invasion on June 5.

Stagg, the meteorological advisor for the Allied forces, called for stormy conditions on the 5th, and urged Eisenhower to hold off.

“Eisenhower learned to trust the meteorologists,” said Long. “He was no fool; he knew that things could change and not every forecast is 100%, but he had learned to trust Stagg and his team of meteorologists.”

In between frontal systems, Stagg was optimistic in clearing and improving weather conditions for June 6. It was a tight window, and would be one that would catch the Germans by surprise.

The Allies may not have had every advantage, but they did when it came to the weather.

“Rommel, in command of the German forces, had actually gone home to see his wife, it was her birthday,” said Long. “And as he departed he said to an officer, 'One thing is for certain – there won’t be an invasion today the weather is too bad.'”

It wasn’t exactly what Eisenhower and the allies hoped for, with rough seas in the Channel and low clouds early on. But through the morning, Stagg’s forecast would eventually verify. While it was a gamble of a decision, it would be one that would eventually mark the beginning of the end of WWII.

“Eisenhower paced his room for a while, mulling, and came to a decision that really was inevitable,” said Long. “We can’t leave our invasion force in the Channel any longer. We either have to fish or cut bait.”

If the Allies waited, their next window for environmental conditions would be two weeks later, in mid-June. It just so happens that two weeks after the D-Day invasion, another round of stormy weather met the English Channel and would’ve proven even worse of a situation.

But what would have happened, specifically, if the Allied efforts in Normandy had failed? What if the German military secured the necessary reinforcements and fended off the invading forces with much heavier firepower?

While it’s impossible to know for certain, historians generally believe such an outcome would have changed the course of the war, and likely the state of global politics.

“If D-Day had failed — let’s say the landings at two of the five beaches had been crushed by the Germans — it would have taken many, many months — well into 1945 — before the Allies were ready to launch a second invasion,” Dr. Rob Citino, a historian and Distinguished Fellow with the National WWII Museum’s scholarly research wing in New Orleans, told Nexstar. “The D-Day invasion … had involved so many men, planes, ships — and so much advance planning — that improvising a second one might have been impossible. There simply wasn’t a second bullet in the chamber.”

It's widely known that General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who commanded the Allied forces, was also prepared to take accountability in the event of a retreat. In a note he wrote the day before and carried in his wallet, Eisenhower jotted down a message he intended to share in the event of a failure.

“Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops,” he wrote. “My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.”

It has also been speculated that Eisenhower would have submitted his resignation in the event of a retreat from Normandy, though it’s uncertain whether it would have been accepted, according to Citino.

“For Eisenhower, there was no Plan B,” Citino said.

Even failure at Omaha Beach alone would likely have derailed the Allied efforts considerably. Instead of continuing inland, the rest of the Allied forces that landed at Utah, Gold, Juno and Sword Beaches may have been forced to re-take Omaha Beach from now-fortified German forces, setting off a domino effect that almost certainly would have lengthened the war and lowered morale.

It’s also possible that Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin would have instructed his armies to advance further westward in the event a failure on the western front. If the Allies had retreated to regroup, or refocus their efforts elsewhere, the continent of Europe could look much different than it does today.

“The United States and Britain might have remained allied, but it is at least conceivable that the United States might have withdrawn to the Western Hemisphere or the Pacific as the focus of its foreign, policy, essentially abandoning Europe to Soviet rule,” historian and Distinguished Professor Thomas Schwartz, of Vanderbilt University, once remarked.

Post-war tensions with the Soviet Union — i.e., the Cold War — would have arisen much earlier, too.

That’s not to mention any ripple effects that an Allied failure may have had on the political landscape of the United States. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, having already served the better part of three terms in office, was just months away from securing a fourth. But troubling news from the front could have given rival candidate Thomas E. Dewey a boost.

“Would Dewey have defeated FDR? Probably not, but the conduct of the war would have become an issue for political debate within the U.S., and who knows where that might have ended?” Citino told Nexstar.

In the end, historians generally believe that the Germany would not have emerged victorious from WWII, or even achieved any kind of stalemate. (“Remember: The U.S. was on the verge of producing an atomic bomb,” Citino noted.) But had the Allies faltered on D-Day, it’s possible the turning point of the war could have come much later, and at a much higher cost.

“If it had lasted, let’s say, another ten months, then we could have been looking at another million additional casualties (military and civilian combined),” said Citino. Hitler, he said, would have continued to carry out his genocidal plans and the Holocaust, “as bad as it was, would have been even more horrific.”

“It was bad enough that World War II in Europe ended in 1945,” Citino said. “It would have been far worse had it ended in 1946.”

Robert Maxwell, the Red River Army Depot's (RRAD) "founding father," said in a 1985 interview, “We were thinking in terms of a wartime plant that would employ a few hundred people for the duration of the war and then shut down once treaties were signed."

In 1939, Maxwell worked with four members of the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce and Sen. Morris Sheppard to secure some of the growing defense funds for the site, originally named the Texarkana Ordnance Depot.

By the time plans were set in place, what was initially an ammunition depot became a large Army installation with a new mission and a new name, the Red River Ordnance Depot. Large maintenance shops, general storage facilities, and an expansive training center for soldiers were included in the site. The Under Secretary of War endorsed the plan in June 1941, and the depot was officially established under the Secretary of War in August of that year.

Bowie County’s population jumped from 50,000 to over 70,000 in just a few weeks, while the population of New Boston, TX, tripled from 1,500 to 5,000 during the depot's construction in 1941.

The company that received the contract for building the depot's infrastructure, Brown and Root, Inc., built 100 igloos in only two weeks in March 1942. More than 22,000 construction workers moved to the area to tackle the job.

Within eight days of completion, the first shipment of ammunition arrived. Radial tank engines roared in the base shops, and production repair lines were in operation by midwinter. The depot was ready to begin filling requisitions for combat vehicle parts.

According to the Red River Public Affairs Office (RRPAO), "By March 1943, Red River was supplying some 78 posts, camps and stations. Twelve thousand tons of general supplies were shipped to the depot that March. More than 2,000 tons were sent out, and more than 2,000 ordnance vehicles were shipped to the depot for storage."

The RRAD posted a tribute to the 12 men and women instrumental in developing the depot in its early years. You can learn more about them here.

The Ordnance Unit Training Center was activated in Nov. 1942 and received its first troops the following January. Over the next few years, 250 barracks, maintenance buildings, and a theater were built to support the over 10,000 troops who trained there during WWII. The soldiers there learned combat skills and gained expertise in various ordnance.

A mock village named "Kochville," named for training director Lt. William J. Koch, gave trainees experience in infiltration and house-to-house fighting. It included a schoolhouse, courthouse, hotel, saloon, and numerous other buildings and structures.

Soldiers would participate in mock battles that gave them first-hand knowledge of the disturbing sounds of battle. The battles also helped familiarize them with the use of personal weapons.

In March 1945 they remodeled the "Italian town" and changed it into a "Japanese village." The Field and Special Training Division repainted the course and outfitted buildings with furniture for booby trap classes.

The center reached its peak of 4,358 soldiers in June 1944, when the Allied forces invaded the beaches of Normandy and began to push back the Nazi forces in Europe. Base officials said the RRAD was one of many installations that provided support for the massive operation.

During WWII, transportation was needed to accommodate massive numbers of workers going to and from the ordnance plants. The Lone River Bus Company and Dixie Motor Coaches ran more than 25 buses daily. The Lone River Company carried 108,400 passengers to and from both plants during one peak month in 1942.

But the job wasn't done once the war ended in 1945.

In a Facebook post, the RRPAO said, "World War II had ended, and Red River became home to over 58,000 battle-weary combat vehicles. Some of the tanks and trucks were too destroyed to carry on any longer, while others needed repairs before they could return to help in other combat operations. The vehicles that received repairs made their way through the maintenance shops at Red River and returned to “like new” conditions. Many of the vehicles again saw combat service in the Korean War."

After North and South Korea signed an armistice in 1953 and brought an end to the Korean War, the operation tempo at the depot began to wane. The ordnance training center closed its doors in March 1956.

The base was selected for deactivation twice, once in 1995 and again in 2005, but its maintenance support services were deemed integral to the Army. Instead, it was designated as a center for industrial and technical excellence. It remains one of the U.S. Army Materiel Command's largest supply and maintenance installations.

Today, the depot receives, stores, and issues gun-motor carriages, ammunition, explosives, supplies, and equipment for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In the late 1950s, RRAD became a center for guided missile assembly and maintenance. It also serves as an army maintenance point for general purpose and maintenance vehicles.

Soldiers at RRAD continue to deploy to Southwest Asia to maintain various vehicle systems. The RRAD is also responsible for over 5,000 civilian deployments to Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq to support forces there.

Now, the Washington D.C., veteran has a message for everyone ahead of the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

"When we came to the graveyard of Normandy and I saw all these tombs, that’s what I referred to as the Holy Spirit seemed to just fill my body and mind. And I started singing the song, you know, Amazing Grace,” said Brown. That was during his first emotional visit to Normandy American Cemetery in June 2023, and his first time back to Normandy in the 79 years since WWII. "I just felt that God's grace had allowed me to be alive," Brown continued.

"Having been in the war and all, you know, a lot of reflection came back at that time,” said Brown. He has one prevailing feeling: gratitude. "I was very thankful that I had been chosen to go back and see where I had been so many years ago. And to think about how many 18- 19-year-old boys, we're out there in the earth, you know, after coming over, and all it was was really a mixed, mixed feeling,” said Brown.

A native of Louisiana, Reverend Brown was drafted when he was 18 years old.  After completing his army training, his company sailed across the Atlantic. "A lot of fright because a lot of water and a lot of gunpower, you know, flying," he remembered.

After landing in England, they sailed to France. “I recognized very early on that if we did not take up arms against what was occurring at that time, we wouldn't have America as we have it today. I heard and understood that, and so I was willing to sacrifice my life to do that,” he said.

The 599th Quartermaster Laundry Company landed in Normandy just after the D-Day invasion.  American soldiers were thankfully in control of the beaches.

"I'd rather be free than to die, you know, under the hands of nothing,” said Brown.

During World War II, troops were segregated, with African American troops often relegated to labor and service units. Rev. Brown says his treatment in Europe was better than in the U.S., which motivated him.

"We had a mindset when we came back to America that we would do everything we could to become educated and change the system, and we're still working on that,” he said.

Rev. Brown achieved many goals, including earning a college degree and eventually becoming a pastor.

While scars from his time at war are still with him, he says the scars on his heart are the ones that worry him the most.

"It was so sad to me to see that we have all of this, all because mankind could not get along with itself,” Brown said.

Rev. Brown is passionate about educating kids about the history of D-Day and he has this request for everyone, as we approach the 80th anniversary: "When people think about D-Day, I would like very much for people to say deep down in their soul that we will never have this to happen again."

Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was 56 years old when he led the assault on Utah Beach in France. He survived the invasion and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his leadership. Unfortunately, one month later a heart attack would claim his life.

He was laid to rest in the Normandy American Cemetery, which was created to pay homage to the soldiers who lost their lives during the liberation of France from the Nazi regime.

Although being laid to rest next to a sibling happened frequently for those who served in the invasion, the Roosevelts have an added unique aspect.

Quentin Roosevelt is the only WWI aviator buried in Normandy. After the cemetery was created, Quentin’s remains were moved to Normandy at the request of his family so that he may rest with his brother, Theodore Jr.

A 19-year-old art student, Bernie Bluestein, saw a job posting outside a college classroom in Cleveland. The year was 1943, and the U.S. was tapping young men for a new top-secret unit, a non-combat unit.

"They told us we were going to do camouflage work, all the details of how they were going to use us and everything else was never explained to us,” said Bluestein.

He was placed with 1,100 other young men in the 23rd Headquarters, Special Troops.

"My parents never knew where I was. I mean, we weren't able to tell them our location,” said Bluestein.

The unit was made up of artists, engineers and architects.  Their mission was to build a dummy army which was all part of a strategic plan to trick the Nazis.

Their mission was subterfuge, "Camouflage equipment, how to make fake equipment," described Bluestein.

They became known as the 'Ghost Army’. They carried out more than 20 missions, perhaps their most famous, on D-Day, was called "Operation Fortitude."

"The purpose of this was to deceive the Germans,” said Bluestein.

Their final elaborate hoax was in March of 1945, known as 'Operation Viersen'. The secret unit distracted the Nazi's to mask Allied troop movements.

"There were a lot of soldiers coming into town. Word finally did get back to the Germans because the following morning, lo and behold, we were shelled by the Germans,” said Bluestein.

The real troops crossed the Rhine with little resistance.

"We all knew it was a success,” said Bluestein.

The veil of secrecy was finally lifted in 1996 when the records were unsealed.  It wasn't until this past March that Bluestein and other members of the Ghost Army were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

“Every American leaves here a little prouder, and every foreigner leaves here [with] a little more respect for America,” Normandy American Cemetery Superintendent, Scott Desjardins said.

Today, thousands of soldiers who died on the shores of Normandy are buried at the Normandy American Cemetery.

“All of those guys who are buried there, that was a sacrifice for all of us here in this country,” Daughter of Pvt. Roy Talhelm, Donna Allen said.

Strategic planning for D-Day began in 1943 while President Frankin Roosevelt and his generals were aboard the USS Iowa on their way to the Tehran Conference.

It was there that the Western Allies committed to launching the D-Day invasion, code named “Operation Overlord.” On June 5, 1944, thousands of ships and close to 200,000 troops began the journey to Normandy, in what would be the largest air, land and naval operation in warfare history.

By June 30, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and supplies had landed on the Normandy shores. Fighting by Allied forces on the Western Front, and Russian forces on the Eastern Front, led to the defeat of the German Nazi forces.

On June 6, 1944, troops from the United States, United Kingdom, and other Allied nations launched the D-Day invasion, landing on the beaches of Normandy, France -- then occupied by Nazi Germany.

“Let us remember -- obviously -- French, American and British, and many other soldiers that fought together in the name of freedom and democracy,” said Laurent Bili, French ambassador to the U.S.

The flame, which has been burning since Nov. 11, 1923, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc du Triomphe in Paris, arrived on the flagship Queen Mary II after a seven day North Atlantic crossing. It was escorted by young French citizens, most of them under the age of 23.

“The eternal flame is a sentimental symbol of remembrance and reverence of our fallen soldiers,” said Edward Mermelstein, the Commissioner of International Affairs for the City of New York.

The flame will rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia until June 6, 2024.

“I'm sorry to tell you that Private Ryan did not exist, but the story is based on the true story of the Niland brothers,” historian Anthony Folquier said.

Preston, Robert, Frederick “Fritz” and Edward Niland all fought in World War II. Robert and Preston were both killed in the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

Although his family received a letter stating that he had been killed in action, Edward Niland survived after being held as a prisoner of war in the Pacific Theater. His family would not find this out until after the war ended.

The basis of the movie pulls from the truthful account of the effort to locate Fritz Niland and prevent the family from presumably losing all Niland brothers in the war. When Fritz went to join the 82nd Airborne Division nine days after the invasion, they informed him of his brothers’ deaths and sent Fritz home.

Preston Niland is the son of Edward Niland, who was a radio operator tail gunner in the Pacific.

"My dad was in the Army Air Force. He was a Tech Sergeant. He flew some missions. He was on a secondary mission over Burma when he got shot down in a B-25. He made it to a village. Unfortunately, it was a Japanese village where they kept him two weeks short of a year," said Niland.

Never losing hope, his mother, "Gussie" Niland, set a place for him every night at the dinner table.

"He tried to escape. They put him in a cage where he couldn't stand up... weighed 85 pounds when he got out... he was emotionally affected for the rest of his life," said Niland.

A monument honoring the Niland Brothers stands at the edge of the Niagara River in Tonawanda, where the boys grew up and where Preston still lives.

"I go by it a lot and I say hello. Uncle Bobby, who was the 82nd Airborne, was killed on D-Day. Uncle Preston was with the 4th Division. They made it off Utah Beach, which was a flat beach compared to Omaha Beach. They got peppered by this German artillery...stepped out of formation to help a wounded soldier, and that's where he got killed. Uncle Fritz with the 101st, he fought his way back to the coast where he found out his brothers had been killed."

The Army then sent Fritz home.

Tom Niland, the brothers' cousin who fought on Utah Beach, identified the two brothers' bodies.

The faded Western Union telegrams with the news of his uncles and father hang in the den along with a letter from FDR, scrapbooks and photos with Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks from the "Saving Private Ryan" premiere.

"The Matt Damon character — my cousin Catie said — he said exactly what Uncle Fritz said when they sent him home," said Preston as he related the conversation. "'I am with the brothers I have now, I'm going to stay...' 'You can't stay you got to argue with General George Marshall.'"

In 1979, Fritz wrote a letter to his daughter Cate about returning to Normandy in 1984 for the 40th anniversary:

"This time around I won't carry an M-1 rifle but armed with a fine wife. First, we shall visit where I haven't... my two brothers buried side by side.  The same blood flows in your veins and I believe the mystic chords of memory will have a pull on you.  You will brush the sleeves of men from my generation who had a rendezvous with destiny."

Preston's grandmother heard from other parents with sons fighting overseas. "The desperation in these letters were things like, 'I heard about your boys; I'm very sorry about your boys; by the way, did they ever say anything about our boys?'" said Preston.

They also received a letter from Bobby before he headed to Omaha Beach. "You know, mom, I try to make believe that I'm a big grown man and a soldier all dressed up, just like I used to dream about when I was younger... When I do come back home to stay, I promise you that I will be a better man — and son — that you can be truly proud of," wrote Bobby in the letter.

The Niland family's service runs deep. Another cousin, Joe, also fought in World War II and helped liberate Dachau concentration camp in 1945. Preston's grandfather, Mike "The Bull" Niland, served under Teddy Roosevelt, although he insisted he wasn't a rough rider.

Decades later, another proud Niland son is serving his country, training to be a helicopter pilot at Naval Air Station, Whiting Field.

"To be a part of something bigger than just flying a helicopter? I think that's the special part and that's how I connect with the great uncles that came before us," said James Niland.

"When I wanted to join, I saw the Blue Angels over Buffalo, and who doesn't want to fly jets?"

But he has his sights set on a different flight path, flying Romeo helicopters in Rota, Spain.

"Having a part in the legacy of my great uncles fighting in Europe, fighting to protect my brothers and sisters over there, it all lined up," he said.

Reflecting on this year's monumental milestone, Lt. Junior Grade Niland recognizes the great victory achieved by his family and the military men who came before him.

"They came together to conquer an unthinkable task and really showed the world that nothing is impossible with the American spirit. Those men were legends, and it was a legendary triumph. They'll live on forever."

Many of them are buried in the Normandy American Cemetery, just yards away from where the invasion happened.

About 12,000 American service members are either buried or remembered at the cemetery. Every year, about 2 million people from around the world visit to learn about these people and pay their respects.

"This cemetery commemorates the sacrifice of an entire young generation, but also the sacrifice of all those families because they were all the son or the brother of someone. Many of them just got a child before they left home. Many of them just got married before they left home. There were husbands, parents, but they were all part of family,” said Anthony Foulquier of the Normandy American Cemetery where 9,388 people are buried in that hallowed ground.

Marble crosses mark most of the graves within the cemetery but in recent years, there's been an effort to acknowledge the soldiers of Jewish heritage who hid their religion during and after the war.

The cemetery made a promise to change their grave markers to Stars of David, at the request of their families.

"We are still honoring this promise,” said Foulquier.

Now there are 152 Stars of David in Normandy American Cemetery.

There are 45 sets of brothers who are buried in the cemetery including 33 who are buried side by side, including two sons of President Theodore Roosevelt, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Junior and Lt. Quentin Roosevelt, who is the only World War I aviator buried in Normandy.

When family members visit the grave of their loved one, cemetery officials perform a sand ceremony as a way to honor that solider.

"We take some sand coming from Omaha beach and we put it to highlight the name of the service member,” said Foulquier.

Within this sacred place is also a memorial with a semicircular garden. More than 1500 names of the missing are inscribed on the wall. 

"In this cemetery are buried more than 300 people, but we don't know their names. their names are inscribed on the Wall of the Missing,” said Foulquier.

Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified in order to remember those who fought and died on the beaches of Normandy.

Those who work at the cemetery know it's not easy for everybody to come to Normandy and pay their respects in person, so they encourage everybody at home to learn about veterans in their community and honor them.

Within the 172-acre cemetery is a memorial featuring the Walls of the Missing. More than 1,500 names of soldiers whose remains were never found are inscribed on the walls. Rosettes mark the names of those whose remains have since been recovered and identified.

“This cemetery commemorates the sacrifice of an entire young generation, but also the sacrifice of all those families because they were all the son or the brother of someone,” Historian, Anthony Foulquier said. “Many of them just got married before they left home. There were husbands, parents, but they were all part of family.”

The memorial is also home to a semicircular garden featuring a bronze statue known as “The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves.”

It depicts the waves of Omaha and Utah beaches where thousands of young Americans lost their lives on D-Day.

While battleships were bombarding the coast with heavy artillery, coxswain Richard Ramsey was stationed on one of those ships that fateful day, and witnessed the carnage.

"June 6th, 1944, 12:30 - 2:30am. Two planes shot down. Large fires and explosions on the beach. And we could see the gliders and the planes going into Normandy and coming back,” said Ramsey.

At 101 years old, Richard "Dick" Ramsey, remembers June 6, 1944 like it was yesterday.

"We became field artillery for the Army and the paratroopers and we destroyed 91 tanks, and we chased the German infantry out of there,” he said.

He keeps memorabilia from his time in the Navy in his bedroom and is proud of his service aboard the USS Nevada battleship, including the French Legion of Honor.

"I was very honored, and he gave me a bottle of French wine, which we ate, it was like the icing on the cake."

He still has the letter from then General Dwight D. Eisenhower describing the importance of their mission.

“Eisenhower had requested some battleships with big guns.... so, they sent them the three oldest battleships in the Navy: the Arkansas, the Texas and the Nevada."

The centenarian left high school after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.  He wanted to do his part and eventually landed a job at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where he helped build the U.S.S. Iowa battleship.

 In 1943 he enlisted in the Navy and was eventually assigned to USS Nevada manning an anti-aircraft gun mount.

“I was in charge of the ammunition supply, on the third deck,” Ramsey recalled.

On June 5th, 1944, the Nevada began crossing the English Channel headed for Utah beach. It was the flagship battleship of the Normandy invasion supporting ground forces.

“Commander Charles Yager he gave the order to commence firing. The Nevada had the honor of firing the first shot. We fired 51% accuracy which means we had a hit every other time."

The battleship then made its way to Omaha Beach.

“The whole beach was on fire, the Navy could not see where to fire but the troops had a schedule to land, and they landed, if you've seen Private Ryan, that’s exactly how it happened.”

Ramsey says combat was grueling and the depths of destruction unimaginable. "The water, all of it was loaded with mines, and some of the big landing-craft got it. They had one survive out of 100 men."

"It breaks your heart.  These are the youth of our country. They gave their todays for your tomorrows."

For some, this will be their first trip back to Europe since the end of the war. For others, because of their health, it may be their last trip back.

Malen Griep answered his nations call to service at the age of 18 and was quickly shipped off to France.

"They got my baggage and put it on the Queen Mary and that's where I stayed for three nights," said Griep.

The 42nd Infantry Division, known as the "Rainbow Division," soon saw combat in Germany.

"We were on the south side, Germans were on the north side and there was a lot of shooting going on," Griep recalled.

He remembers nights of combat and he remembers being there as the 42nd liberated Jewish prisoners at the Dachau Concentration camp. He was there as an American tank knocked down the front gate.

"The gate was standing, partially open, and they rammed it, " Griep said.

He also remembers opening the doors to two rail cars, stacked with the bodies of Jewish prisoners.

"It was very jolting. First the people inside were moaning," said Griep.

Now, thanks to the Elks Club of Florida, Griep will be traveling back to Normandy with members of his family.

Rudy Maci with the Elks Club will be there.

"The World War II vets and the Korean War vets thought their lives were over and nobody recognized, nobody remembered what they did. Now they are honored, they are treated like big celebrities," said Masi.

The D-Day veteran is now 100 years old, and he recounts the insurmountable odds that he and his fellow soldiers faced on that fateful day in June 1944. The memories are vivid.

“I hate to even say it, all of these dead, young soldiers. It was covered in the blood of these soldiers. They never even hit the beach. They were all 18- and 19-year-olds, my age. You knew what was coming, you know,” he recalled. “They told us we were going to have trouble.  Our training was kept quiet, nobody knew where the hell we were going.”

Gibson recalls the route he took to get there. "We went over from England, Northampton to Normandy on an LFT, that's a flat-bottom boat." He was sent off to war with a number of other 18-year-olds from New Jersey. He still remembers their names to this day.

Gibson and his fellow soldiers were all assigned to different units. He was assigned to the 116^th Battalion attached to the First Army.

"Our job was to follow the infantry and be support for them," said Gibson. "You were told, 'We gotta go, don't stop for anything.'"

Gibson described the first night after landing. "I wound up... I would say three-quarters of mile on the beach," said Gibson. "And wouldn't you know, the first night, they bombed the ammunition dump. And every time you took a step there was a shell bar going off."

Gibson also spoke of faith. “It was scary because you didn't know what the hell to do... we had a lot of faith; the Boy upstairs took care of us. Don't you think we didn't pray, we certainly did, and we know darn well that carried us through,” he said.

Gibson spent five days on the beach and says the experience changed him forever.

“First time I went back, nothing was the same because it was 70 years almost,” he said. "You would not believe the 'thank you' we got. Schools came out with flags."

After landing in Normandy, Gibson continued the fight against the Nazis in the ‘Battle of the Bulge.’  His unit traveled across the Rhine River into Germany, and he was there when the Nazis surrendered in 1945.

The trip home took 18 days, traveling across rough waters, but he remembers seeing the Statue of Liberty, just like it was yesterday.

“Let me tell you, when you are seeing that Statue of Liberty, believe me boy, you knew you were home."

Gibson will be 101 years old in September. He says, ”I am very fortunate, I’ve had a good life. If I go tomorrow, I can say, 'Well done, old boy.'”

William Toombs is 100 years old and was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He said he is grateful he is still able to tell his story.

“We flew our first bombing mission on D-Day,” Toombs said. “We were to bomb a railroad yard that cut off communications to keep the Germans from letting anything come in and getting out, but we couldn't see the target so we didn't drop.”

June 6, 2024, marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day when tens of thousands of Americans and Allied troops stormed the shoreline of Normandy to take back Europe from Nazi Germany in 1944.

“It was the largest amphibious landing in the history of the world,” Toombs said. “You can never imagine how many ships and airplanes flew that day.”

It’s memories that Toombs has that he will soon share with around 50 World War II veterans selected to attend ‘The Battlefield Return’ to Normandy with The Best Defense Foundation partnering with Delta to provide a special charter flight.

“It only happens once in a lifetime.” Toombs adds, “It will be exciting just to meet them and talk about old times with them.”

Toombs said he enlisted at 18 years old, leaving his then job as a railroad mechanic apprentice.

“When I enlisted I wanted to be a mechanic, I didn't want to fly,” he said. “I just evolved into a flying group.”

He served as a flight engineer gunner on both B17s and B24s with the 493rd Bomb Group of the Army Air Corp also known as the “Mighty 8th.”

“I don't think I could have picked a better bunch than what they did, we had a great crew and every man knew their jobs,” Toombs said.

He served in 28 missions until the war ended.

“When the war was over, I thought that was it, you would never hear any more about it,” said Toombs.

Toombs said he returned to working in the railroad and years later he was pleasantly surprised to be honored so many times for his service. He said he is thankful that this soon-to-be trip will allow him to join hands with others who served.

“It's an honor to me for people to recognize what I did in the war and I think that I really appreciate that part. I didn't expect anyone to do that but I really enjoy it,” Toombs said.

Best Defense Foundation is partnering up with Delta Airlines who will provide the veterans a special charter flight to Normandy where they will be celebrated with parades, school visits, ceremonies and more. They take flight June 1. 

Bankston, Barlow and Brown were assigned to the Women's Army Corps 6888 Postal Battalion.

“Their work was to ensure the delivery of mail between the families and the service members,” historian Anthony Folquier said.

Elizabeth Richardson was in the American Red Cross. She was assigned to a “clubmobile” unit, a vehicle placed behind friendly lines so that the service men fighting for the cause could have a short moment of rest.

Richardson would supply the men with newspapers, cigarettes, everyday items; but most importantly she brought them food. In those intervening times, Elizabeth came to be known as the “big sister.”

"Many of these men she met during the war used to share - with her - all the feelings they had such as missing home, missing family, loneliness, fear, anger. Not joyful feedings, but human feedings," said Folquier.

Richardson did not die on the battlefield. "She was killed [in] a plane accident while she was trying to reach the Red Cross headquarters in Paris. Her plane was taken in a storm, crashed in fog near the city of Rouen in Normandy," said Folquier. That was July 25, 1945.

"She was a civilian. This is a military cemetery. But for what she did during the war, her family had the same choice and her family decided to have their daughter resting here forever," said Folquier.

There is no specific order to the arrangement of graves at the Normandy American Cemetery. People of any rank, religion, age or gender are honored equally for the sacrifice they made.

The USS Normandy’s Executive Officer, Commander Adam Samson describes that responsibility. "You're carrying forth with you, not only the history of the actual invasion, but all the giants that came before us to make this 30+ year [old] ship one of the greatest warships ever to grace the United States Navy."

Remnants of a battle 80 years ago, from uniforms and weapons to flags and banners, fill the USS Normandy. Samson recounts the importance of the Battle of Normandy, saying, “Really [it] was a catalyst to bringing to conclusion the end of one of the darkest periods in the history of the world."

The guided missile cruiser was commissioned in 1989 and is homeported in Norfolk, Virginia. While the ship recently returned from a lengthy deployment, the entire crew is crossing the Atlantic once again to be in Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

The ship's commanding officer, Captain Erroll Robinson, said he hopes to spend time with D-Day veterans while in Normandy. "For us to go there and to witness that moment is historic," said Robinson. "I'm looking forward to talking to them, to experience through their eyes, their testament of what it was like, their journey."

USS Normandy Command Master Chief Will Palmer hopes the impact of that moment is something that resonates with younger sailors. "To go see the beaches of Normandy on the 80th anniversary with soldiers who were there, alive on that day, and fought in that battle. It really drives home the point of why we do what we do," said Palmer.

The 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion is Thursday, June 6, 2024.

It’s a battle that changed the course of history, helping to liberate Europe from Nazi control.

Known as the greatest generation, World War II veterans are aging.

Many of them need greater assistance, but all of them are determined that the generations that follow never forget. The Best Defense Foundation [BDF] is working to help reach that goal.

A former NFL linebacker, Donnie Edwards, created the foundation in 2018 to honor and celebrate war veterans.

"It just came organically as a simple conversation talking with veterans to where we are now that we can have this huge impact,” said Edwards.

What began as one man helping a few veterans has turned into a life mission for Donnie and his wife Kathryn.

"After playing football for 30 years of my life this is my new team," said Donnie Edwards. "Follow your passion and you'll find your destination where you want to,” he continued.

The foundation runs with the help of hundreds of volunteers.

"They are the salt and backbone of BDF,” said Kathryn Edwards.

Edwards was one of 11 kids and grew up without a father. His grandfather was a big inspiration.

"My grandfather, Maximino Razo, was a Pearl Harbor survivor and a WW II veteran... If you want it, you can get it here in America. We provided opportunity for you,” said Donnie Edwards.

Along with taking veterans back to the battlegrounds where they once fought, Best Defense provides a variety of resources like the Stronghold Transition Program, that helps retired Special Forces operators return to civilian life and connect with the community around them. 

Professional athletes pair with Special Forces to help each other grow. "We talk about identity, purpose, to be better fathers, to be better husbands, to be better leaders in the community,” said Donnie Edwards.

This year will be the first co-ed program. "You may be a Sgt. Major over here but the Sgt. Major at home is the wife,” Donnie Edwards added. "When the military personnel come home, the transition has to start there," said Kathryn Edwards.

The Edwards’ goal is to educate future generations about the heroism and sacrifices of these veterans and continue their legacy for generations to come.

"I’m so glad that I have this platform to give back to the men and women who served this country,” said Donnie Edwards.

To learn more, you can visit the Best Defense Foundation’s website at www.bdf.org.

Andrew Carroll is the founder and director of the Center for American War Letters at Chapman University. He's collected hundreds of thousands of letters from every war dating back to the American Revolution.

The project has special significance for Scott Thompson. Thompson found letters written during World War I by his grandfather, Horace who served as a foreman in the Army, to his sister Garland.

“The letters themselves run the gamut of human experience. And war kind of makes these letters more vivid because there's this life and death aspect to them," said Carroll. "So, the love letters are more passionate, the philosophical letters are more profound. You really get a sense of all the emotions that, frankly, every one of us can relate to."

After finding the letters in a trunk, Thompson decided to donate them for preservation and to help bring to life the troops, their service and their sacrifice.

One of the letters describes being behind enemy lines: “We are a few miles behind the lines now and it certainly feels funny not to hear the guns all day and the gas alarms…” Carroll explained. "If you look at the date, August 15, that's very significant because the real battles between the Americans and Germans are really intensifying."

"I just can't imagine a 17 or 18-year-old being in that situation," said Thompson. "It's so different from when I was that age. That's not what I was doing, I was playing tennis on a tennis court."

"It's about helping to bring these troops to life and teaching other generations about what they did, their service and their sacrifice," Carroll added.

"My dad will be thrilled. My dad is 90 and still doing well. I told him I was going to give these letters to you guys and so he is happy," said Thompson.

“And there's seeing the courage of their brothers and sisters in arms that's what makes these letters so engaging, is that they really do capture the human experience, you know, from many different levels,” Carroll added.

Carroll says reading the letters has a profound effect on people.

“Whether it’s giving a talk to generals of the Pentagon or to a high school group, they all come up and one of like, look at that one letter and hold it. And of course, we have, you know, plastic protection and so forth. But it really does make a difference to have that tangible object in your hand because you have a connection to the person who wrote it.”

If you have letters you want to donate, please reach out to Andrew Carroll at www.warletters.com.