World War II vets commemorate D-Day invasion at Cantigny Park
Marvin Dyer still remembers clearly the day 65 years ago when as an Army 29th Infantry Division soldier, he prepared to step onto the sands of Omaha Beach.
The 84-year-old Chicago man was part of the eighth or ninth wave of men to hit the beach. Before they could even get close to shore, the men had to transfer ships after their boat was crippled by artillery fire.
He's still haunted by graphic memories of people dying as they fell in the water and were sucked under, Dyer said Saturday during a daylong set of festivities at Cantigny Park in Wheaton to commemorate the D-Day invasion.
Dyer joined more than 500 World War II veterans - roughly 90 of whom participated in the Allied invasion of France - to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Officials with Cantigny's First Division Foundation expected Saturday's turnout of veterans to be one of the largest in the nation.
"At the rate that so many of these veterans are dying, this may be the last big reunion we will ever see," said Steven Hawkins, director of information management with the First Division Museum.
Among the D-Day veterans tapped to participate in Saturday's events was Wayne Borchsenius. The Coast Guard veteran from downstate Norway was a yeoman helping transport many of the thousands of landing crafts filled with soldiers that would be dropped off on the beaches of Normandy.
"When you looked out into the waters, there were ships as far as the eyes could see," said Borchsenius, who was among a group of veterans asked to lay a wreath Saturday in front of a replica of "The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves." The original sculpture overlooks the burial sites of nearly 10,000 servicemen and women in Normandy.
Borchsenius also helped unveil a fully restored Higgins boat, a barge-like landing craft used to deploy troops onto the shores during much of World War II.
Bob Persinger of Rockford remembered as a young soldier listening to news accounts of the invasion as he was stationed on a ship heading toward Liverpool, England, to join the fight.
On Saturday, the vet spent the afternoon quizzing active-duty soldiers of the First Infantry Division about the military helicopters on display.
"We never got to play with toys this big," Persinger joked.
Among the soldiers Persinger chatted up was Sgt. Justin Dennhardt. Both men were members of the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment.
"It's such a humbling experience to be able to talk to some of these guys," Dennhardt said. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for all their work. They are my history and I am their future."