81 Years Since D-Day: Remembering the Normandy Invasion

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Eighty-one years ago, allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy in a turning point of World War II now remembered as D-Day.

More than 2,500 American soldiers died during the Battle of Normandy. Three American battleships took part in the invasion, including the USS Nevada, which was refloated after being sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Following the invasion, those ships were later sent to aid U.S. troops in the Pacific.

The Battleship North Carolina, now moored in Wilmington as a memorial, did not hold a formal ceremony Thursday to mark the anniversary. However, Terry Kuhn, the ship’s maintenance director, shared why remembrance is important.

“The sailors on board the North Carolina were definitely out there putting their lives at risk. We lost several sailors from the North Carolina. It was a huge undertaking both for the country and all the Allied countries that were with us. And if we forget what the country and all those people were able to do, then we kind of are forgetting how great the country used to be.”

The June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France used the largest-ever armada of ships, troops, planes and vehicles to break through German defenses in Western Europe. More than 4,400 Allied troops were killed during the operation.