D-Day in Old Town Alexandria; early diner afterwards

Let's recognize the 82th anniversary of the WWII D-Day landings at Normandy (France).

Hosted by the Alexandria-Caen (France) Sister City Committee, this ceremony and commemoration event takes place on John Carlyle Square in Old Town.

There will be re-enactors, historical displays, a 1940's jazz band and swing dancing, the US Army Fife and Drum Corps and more.

I was stationed in Paris for 25 months and attended the 20th Anniversary of the Liberation of Paris, 24 August 1964. I was in a photograph on the front page of the NY Herald Tribune along with 400,000 other people crammed onto the Place de la Concorde. WOW!

D-Day, June 6, 1944, marked the largest amphibious invasion in military history and the beginning of the Allied liberation of Nazi-occupied France. Known as Operation Neptune, the assault was the opening phase of Operation Overlord, the broader campaign to liberate Northwest Europe. Under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, more than 156,000 Allied troops from the United States, Great Britain, and Canada landed along the Normandy coast across five beaches: Utah and Omaha (U.S.), Gold and Sword (British), and Juno (Canadian).
Despite fierce German resistance, particularly at Omaha Beach, where some of the most intense fighting occurred, the Allies secured a foothold in Normandy by nightfall. The cost was heavy, with more than 4,500 Allied troops killed on the first day, including 2,499 Americans.
Their sacrifice paved the way for the capture of Cherbourg, the battle for Caen, and the decisive Falaise Pocket in August 1944 which shattered German forces in France. Less than a year later, Nazi Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945.
Though “D-Day” is a general military term for the launch of an operation, its scale and significance have made June 6, 1944, forever synonymous with courage, sacrifice, and a decisive turning point in World War II in Europe.

Did you know? Most every French village in western France has a street named after its DAY! rue du 15 juin 1944; avenue du 5 juillet 1944; boulevard du 10 août 1944...the DAY of its liberation from German occupiers, as Allied forces swept through.

A trip to Normandie is a required addition to everyone's bucket list. I'm a regular visiteur.

We'll have an early diner together afterwards in the area.