Today it is surprising how many young adults do not know about D-Day, the Normandy invasion. My father's cousin was a bomber pilot that participated in D-Day and was shot down two weeks later over Dunkirk. His brother Frank was in Operation Torch in the North African campaign and again in the Sicily invasion. His brother James was in the Pacific theater in the Navy. My father was active in the Korean War but was fortunate not to be sent there. I was stationed at a base that provided fighter support to the F-111's that attacked Libya, but fortunate to not have been in combat. The events of D-Day is something very real to the Boomers and should be remembered by all.
There are many good YouTube documentaries that will give the history. An interesting side to the invasion is Operation Fortitude about the deceptions used that held reinforcements from being sent. It includes a double spy code named Garbo that was huge part of the success.
Quarters on the Grave: There is a tradition in military cemeteries of leaving a coin on a gravestone. Every time I visit my parents grave I bring a penny. You will notice coins on other gravestones as well. These signify:
- Penny – signifies that someone (veteran or civilian) has visited the grave
- Nickel – signifies that the coin-leaver attended boot camp with the veteran
- Dime – signifies that the coin-leaver served with the veteran in some capacity
- Quarter – signifies that the coin-leaver was present when the veteran died
Bring your military garb if you would like. Bring your preferred drink and join us to remember this day. There is an adventure lab here created by Scooby Patrol that you can do if you haven't already. There will be plenty of people to help!
Bring a folding chair if you have one. There is limited parking at the park. There is additional parking across the street, as well as the Dog Park around the corner.