It was the largest amphibious invasion in world history, with over 160,000 troops involved in the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June, 1944. The air assault had another 24,000. On the 67th anniversary of that decisive WWII day, the Honorable Order helped sponsor a trip for some 100 veterans of the war to fly to Washington, DC to visit "their" memorial. They were greeted by Army Chief of Staff and soon-to-be Chairman of the Joint Chief's of Staff General Martin Dempsey. General Dempsey is shown greeting some of the Vets in the photo. He made an effort to greet each one. Among the Vets on the trip was 93 year old Gertrude Gay, shown in the photo below and to the left. Gertrude was one of the first nurses on Omaha Beach.
The third photo (right) is of an unidentified Vet who is recording his visit by taking a photo from inside the Memorial with the
Washington Monument in the background. Incidentally, we "promoted" General Dempsey during the day. He is now a Kentucky Colonel. We will publish a photo of the presentation of the Commission in our annual print newsletter which you will receive, along with the 2012 Membership Card, around October 1. If you know of a WWII Veteran who has not visited the Memorial, and if they are able to travel, you can obtain an application for participation in an Honor Flight at
this web site. One final note, the next flight to be sponsored by the Honorable Order is tentatively scheduled for October 6. A very special story on that flight will also appear in the fall print edition of the newsletter.
