(WXYZ) — The 80th anniversary of D-Day is a little less than two weeks away.
June 6, 1944 marks the day 132,000 troops landed on the beaches of Normandy to begin the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany.
Two metro Detroiters are set to take part in commemoration events in France in just a few days time. Detroit Arsenal of Democracy Museum Director John Lind and Paul Ott, an assistant curator for vehicles and a World War II reenactor, will take part in a series of historic airborne landings.
Lind says around 1,700 parachutists from around the world are expected to take part in the commemoration event — the bulk of them are from the U.S. Lind will take part in four jumps, including one at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford in England.
"This is when the Americans came over, re-supplied them and then, we provided troops and the expertise to do the Operation Overlord, which was the invasion of Europe," Lind said of D-Day. "This was the act to liberate France from the Nazis who worked on their protections, their wall the Great Atlantic Wall for years. Millions and millions of people worked on this thing and in reality, the American, British and Canadian, the free French troops breached it within six hours. So all that time they spent was basically for nothing."
Just five years ago, Lind was tapped to help commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
"Five years ago, the jump went very well and the weather simulated Normandy perfectly. It was low, clouds were overcast. We jumped into France and it started out like any other military operation," Lind said.
The veteran says this anniversary celebration may be the last that many WWII veterans are able to witness.
"They’re in their mid-90s. The WWII guys are close to 100 or better, so this is our last chance to say thank you," Lind said. "It’s special. When I was a kid, the WWII guys were a dime a dozen. They did everything. My dad was a WWII veteran and they were everywhere. They were your police, your fire. They were everything and now, they’re dwindling and it will come to that day when the last WWII veteran passes away."
Lind and the other parachutists are taking off for Europe early next week. Their first jump will be on May 31. They're set to spend two weeks there in total.
