Here’s a sight you don’t often get to see - and aren’t likely to see for very much longer.
Video went viral over the weekend showing a small parade of about 60 World War II veterans, among the very few of them left in the world, being pushed through Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on their way to a chartered flight that would take them to France to celebrate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Here at @DFWAirport where @AmericanAir is flying several World War II veterans to France on a specially-chartered 787 Dreamliner.
— Ryan Ewing (@FlyingHighRyan) May 31, 2024
The oldest onboard is 107-years-old. pic.twitter.com/4zakacNlEz
Flag-waving crowds can be heard cheering as the smiling men were wheeled through the halls, many of them waving American flags of their own. The eldest of veterans was an impressive 107 years old, with the youngest being 96.
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According to a Reuters report, the veterans received the same celebratory welcome in France as they did during their send-off from American soil, with crowds at Paris Charles-de-Gaulle airport cheering on the men as they debarked from their American Airlines plane.
Bill Wall, still rockin’ it at 101 years old and with his son by his side, said he was honored to be able to come back to France and pay his respects to his friends and fellow soldiers who didn’t make it back home.
"It feels great…and I’m so thankful that I got the opportunity to be back out here, my son with me," Wall said. "I lost some great friends. All of these people who are out there on their crosses and unmarked graves are the true heroes. It gives me a chance to pay tribute to them which they so need.”
Bob Gibson, a 101-year-old veteran who was among the second wave of Allied troops to land on Normandy's Utah beach on June 6, 1944, said he still has nightmares about the battle to this day.
"It's like it happened yesterday. You wouldn't believe what I have seen. Terrible. Some of the young fellows never reached the major beach. Sometimes it wakes you up at night," he said, according to Reuters.
The group will take part in a number of D-Day celebrations including a visit to the Eiffel Tower and wreath-laying ceremonies on Omaha and Utah Beaches.
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