World War II veterans sit behind an American flag carried during D-Day in 1944 after it arrived at the National Military Museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. The American 48-star flag was flown on the stern of the US Navy ship LCC 60, which was the leading vessel on 6 June 1944, responsible for directing the invasion fleet and the first American troops to Utah Beach in Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The Associated Press
SOESTERBERG, Netherlands (AP) - An American flag that flew on the stern of the boat that carried the first U.S. troops to Utah Beach on D-Day traveled by Chinook helicopter on Thursday to its new temporary home at the Netherlands' National Military Museum.
The fragile flag was greeted by an honor guard and dignitaries that included a group of American World War II veterans.
Dutch businessman Bertram Kreuk, who bought the 48-star flag at an auction in Texas for $514,000, has loaned it to the museum.
Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said the flag "should remind us that freedom must never be taken for granted."
The Dallas-based auction house that arranged the flag's sale in June says the banner bears a bullet hole that is believed to have come from a German machine gun.
D-Day marks the date during World War II when Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944, beginning the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi occupation.
The museum plans to display the flag until the end of the year as part of an exhibit devoted to the D-Day landings and the symbolism of the American flag.
A World War II veteran adjusts his medals prior to the arrival ceremony for an American flag carried during D-Day in 1944 at the National Military Museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. The American 48-star flag was flown on the stern of the US Navy ship LCC 60, which was the leading vessel on 6 June 1944, responsible for directing the invasion fleet and the first American troops to Utah Beach in Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The Associated Press
John MacLeod, a ninety-three-year-old World War II veteran from Toronto, Canada, sits behind an American flag carried during D-Day in 1944 after it arrived at the National Military Museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. The American 48-star flag was flown on the stern of the US Navy ship LCC 60, which was the leading vessel on 6 June 1944, responsible for directing the invasion fleet and the first American troops to Utah Beach in Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The Associated Press
An American flag carried during D-Day in 1944 is carried out of a Chinook helicopter as it arrives at the National Military Museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. The American 48-star flag was flown on the stern of the US Navy ship LCC 60, which was the leading vessel on 6 June 1944, responsible for directing the invasion fleet and the first American troops to Utah Beach in Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The Associated Press
Dutch Defense Minster Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert receives an American flag carried during D-Day in 1944 at the National Military Museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. The American 48-star flag was flown on the stern of the US Navy ship LCC 60, which was the leading vessel on 6 June 1944, responsible for directing the invasion fleet and the first American troops to Utah Beach in Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The Associated Press
Two World War II veterans talk prior to the arrival ceremony for an American flag carried during D-Day in 1944 at the National Military Museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. The American 48-star flag was flown on the stern of the US Navy ship LCC 60, which was the leading vessel on 6 June 1944, responsible for directing the invasion fleet and the first American troops to Utah Beach in Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The Associated Press