From the June 2, 2024, Chicago Tribune by William A. Ryan.
Since there is a lot of news about the 80th anniversary of D-Day, I will be writing about some of it here in this blog as well, of course, in my World War II blog.
In a nursing home about three hours northwest of Chicago near the Wisconsin border on the edge of Durand, Illinois, a town nicknamed "Village of Volunteers," three WW II veterans are talking about the upcoming 80th anniversary of D-Day.
One of them will be traveling to Normandy for the occasion, though he is increasingly frail at the age of 98. Frank Kohnke is a bit anxious about the trip.
He straightens his 101st Airborne cap and holds up a sepia-toned photograph of him back then.
At the beginning of June, the Army kicks off 10 days in Normandy to commemorate perhaps the most iconic military maneuver in modern history: the day America and her allies stormed the beaches of France to gain a foothold in German-occupied Europe.
Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to attend, but the guests of honor will be the nearly 130 World War II veterans like Kohnke who are making the the trip on two medically-supported Honor Flights.
--GreGen
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