WWII War Vets in Normandy for D-Day: None of Us Would Be Here Without Them

In the midst of this upside down era where children are routinely taught to hate America at school, some 66 World War II vets—the last of the Greatest Generation—have made it to Normandy, France to honor the 80th Anniversary of D-Day

None of us would even be here had it not been for the heroic courage and sacrifice of these outstanding vets.

It should be remembered—forever more—that it was America, more than any other country that saved the World during World War II.

The USA Today front page story “66 Vets Return”, written about the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, was brought to my attention by someone I have long regarded as my personal hero, lifelong Champion of Homeless Veterans Robert Rosebrock.

“Attached is today's front page headline article in USA Today "66 VETS RETURN" and it is about the 80th anniversary of D-Day. The front-page photo is of Bob Pedigo, a WW II legend and a neighbor of mine at the apartment complex where I now live here in Indianapolis,” Rosebrock wrote me in his email.

“I recently had lunch with him and what an honor. Here is photo I took of him a couple of weeks ago at our lunch get-together.

“He is now in Normandy for the June 6th D-Day Anniversary. The USA Today article begins and ends with Bob ... if you get a chance, see if you can buy a copy at one of your local grocery stores, etc. A real collector's item to compare what our America Military did to "save the world" with the Normandy Invasion 80 years ago.

“Let us never forget that 2024 is the 4th anniversary of the COVID-19 invasion (C-Day) that Communists attempted to destroy the world -- specifically America.”

No America without God Almighty is the message Rosebrock, who has dedicated his lifetime to bringing Homeless war vets HOME, repeatedly sends out.

Even being charged for displaying an American flag at the gates of LA’s Veteran Hospital has never stopped him in his crusade to bring all homeless veterans home.

“Like an indelible vision of long-gone soldiers that live forever in the memories of their loved ones, Robert Rosebrock has appeared for more than 500 consecutive Sundays and every Memorial Day since March 9, 2008 outside the gates of the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Affairs (GLAVA) park calling public attention to America’s abandoned homeless veterans. (Canada Free Press, Feb. 24, 2017)

Related: Robert Rosebrock, Unsung, Faithful Hero of Homeless War Vets

102-year-old WWII vet from New York dies traveling to France for D-Day commemoration

A sign thanking living and deceased veterans for their bravery and sacrifices to their country on D-Day at Dallas Fort Worth Airport from which the 66 vets left for Normandy. “Because of YOU, it read “we are safe and free”, telling the true story of how a now Marxist-controlled America is the same one that saved the world.

“Andi Goldsticker of Dallas stood off to the side and held a sign thanking the veterans for their bravery and sacrifices in service to the country. (USA Today, June 3, 2024)

“Goldsticker’s father-in-law, Ralph Goldsticker, 102, a bombardier who flew missions on D-Day, was making the trip to France. His son, Andi’s husband Larry, was accompanying him.\

“As she watched, she recalled the way her father-in-law had described the war. “Every time I dropped a bomb,” he would say, “I thought I was going to die.”

“EN ROUTE TO FRANCE – Robert Pedigo had a hunch.“He and his bomber crew, based in England, had been flying missions against the Nazis. Then, on a late spring evening in 1944, a commander took each squadron into a nearby wheat field to give them special instruction.

“Men, go get a good night’s rest,” he said, “because we have an important mission tomorrow.”

“The commander, he has always remembered, was Jimmy Stewart, the star who had left Hollywood to lead air attacks throughout World War II. Pedigo and the rest of the flight crew bedded down. The wakeup call would come at 2:30 the next morning, June 6.

“Pedigo, from Indianapolis, had sold scrap metal and worked other jobs during the Great Depression to help support his family before enlisting in the Army Air Corps. Now he was a nose gunner and air bomber on a crew of 10 in the 453rd Bombardment group. Their B-24J Liberator, nicknamed the Silent Yokum, took off into the morning sky.

“As they crossed the English Channel, Pedigo looked down and couldn’t believe his eyes. He had been right. It was something big.

“Instead of just water, he saw ships, so many that he could have walked across the channel, using the boats as stepping stones.

“Instead of just sky, he saw fighters, heavy bombers, C-47 troop transports, every kind of plane imaginable.

“It was June 6, 1944, the day the rest of the world would soon know as D-Day.

“From his seat at the nose gun, Pedigo could see it happening. Above, below and all around him, every boat and plane was headed in the same direction he was. Toward Normandy.”

God Bless this and every day in Normandy that reminds us of that day 80 years ago when selfless American soldiers saved the world.

God Bless the millions who keep their message from ever fading away.