Warren to Celebrate 70th Anniversary of D-Day, Friday, June 6

The city of Warren will sponsor a special ceremony of the 70th anniversary of D-Day Friday, June 6 at 3 p.m. at Warren City Hall. All veterans are invited.

Warren Mayor Jim Fouts, who lost an uncle in the invasion, said D-Day was “the beginning of the end of World War II.”

Fouts, a World War II follower and retired high school government instructor, has sponsored city hall ceremonies honoring veterans from World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, Desert Storm and the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.

Fouts said D-Day veterans hold a special place in our nation’s history because that invasion was “pivotal” in the war.

On D-Day, the Allies landed around 156,000 troops in Normandy. The American forces landed numbered 73,000: 23,250 on Utah Beach, 34,250 on Omaha Beach, and 15,500 airborne troops. In the British and Canadian sector, 83,115 troops were landed (61,715 of them British); 24,970 on Gold Beach, 21,400 on Juno Beach, 28,245 on Sword Beach, and 7900 airborne troops.

11,590 aircraft were available to support the landings. On D-Day, Allied aircraft flew 14,674 sorties, and 127 were lost.

In the airborne landings on both flanks of the beaches, 2,395 aircraft and 867 gliders of the RAF and USAAF were used on D-Day.

By June 11 (D+5), 326,547 troops, 54,186 vehicles and 104,428 tons of supplies had been landed on the beaches.

The D-Day veterans will be honored along with World War II, Korean, and Vietnam veterans in attendance. An ice cream social with coffee and cookies will follow the ceremony.

Veterans wishing to attend should call the Mayor’s Office at 586-574-4520 to make reservations. Arrival time is 2 p.m.