D-Day has been described as the longest day for the soldiers sent June 6, 1944, to storm the beaches of Normandy.
For 2,400 young men, it was their last day, World War II veteran Deloy Lawson said Saturday during an event at the Black River Coliseum to commemorate Veterans Day.
Lawson and his four-man gun crew were in the 25th wave, given strict orders to get their boat on that beach.
"And we did. We landed ... We were really proud to be a crew that maybe helped drive the first nail in Hitler's coffin, but what was sad about that day is that 2,400 men perished on that beach," said Lawson, the keynote speaker.
His gun crew was made up of two 17-year-olds, a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old.
"It was so bad when we first got there, you could have walked on the dead bodies. That's hard to say," Lawson explained. "We couldn't get to where we wanted to land until a lot of the bodies were removed."
It is the soldier who gives Americans freedom of the press, freedom of religion, the freedom to protest or to have a fair trial and the right to vote, according to a poem Lawson asked be read near the closing of the ceremony.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protestor to burn the flag, reads the words by Charles M. Province.
The nation's veterans, ordinary Americans, have acted in extraordinary ways to keep this country safe and free, speaker Dr. Patricia Hall told the crowd. Hall is director of John J. Pershing VA Medical Center and a retired Army colonel.
"Let it be our mission as a nation to preserve their memories of their great deeds," she said, adding, "This month we also remember our men and women who tonight and every other night of the year, are keeping our peace close to home or standing guard in far away places."
They are tomorrow's veterans, she said.
"Every day, they put on their uniforms and lay their lives on the line to allow us to continue to enjoy the blessings of freedom," Hall said. "To all those who faithfully served and those still serving today, we thank you."
The ceremony also included an invocation by Staff Sgt. Kelly Williams of the VAMC, posting of the colors by American Legion riders Post 494 of Qulin, Mo., pledge of allegiance by Vietnam veteran Larry Kimbrow and singing of the national anthem by Holden Jennings of Three Rivers College.
A wreath presentation was provided by AMVETS Auxiliary Post 29, and POW/MIA remembrance by American Legion Post 153.
First Sgt. Doyle Sappington performed a song titled, "It's an Honor to Serve."
He shared a story told to him by a veteran who survived the Bataan Death March in World War II.
"He told me the stories about how in order to save his lieutenant, he had to carry him, or they would have killed him. But he did that many, many times," said Sappington. "It's something he needed to share, wanted to share, that people need to hear. It's ordinary people doing extraordinary things."
Opening and closing remarks were provided by John Holland, who retired from the Navy.