To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the 1944 “D-Day" Normandy landings, commanded by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the National Park Service is excited to announce special ranger programs and talks throughout the week of June 1 - 8, 2019. Daily throughout the week, rangers will present programs at Eisenhower National Historic Site focusing on General Eisenhower and other aspects of the D-Day invasion.
On Saturday, June 1 at 7 pm, at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center, historian Jared Frederick will begin the commemoration with a presentation on his new book, Dispatches of D-Day: A People’s History of the Normandy Invasion.
The commemoration continues on Wednesday, June 5 at 7:30 pm with a special evening campfire program. Join park rangers at the Gettysburg National Military Park amphitheater on West Confederate Ave. for a special eve-of-battle program as they recall the moments leading up to the invasion of Europe. Rangers will tell stories of General Eisenhower and the Allied soldiers, sailors, and airmen who prepared for an uncertain fate on June 6, 1944.
On the anniversary, Thursday, June 6 at 5 pm, Licensed Battlefield Guide Ralph Siegel will present a special walking tour of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. His tour will focus on the service members buried in the cemetery who lost their lives during D-Day and the Normandy campaign. Meet at the Taneytown Road entrance to the cemetery.
The weeklong commemoration ends with another special program on the evening of Saturday, June 8 at 5:30 pm in the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. Join park rangers and military veterans as they explore the stories of some of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who gave the last full measure of devotion to their country during World War II. Meet at the Taneytown Road entrance to the cemetery.
Eisenhower National Historic Site preserves and interprets the home and farms of the Eisenhower family as a fitting and enduring memorial to the life, work, and times of General Dwight David Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States, and to the events of far-reaching importance that occurred on the property. Learn more at www.nps.gov/eise.
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 419 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.
Tags: eisenhower national historic site eisenhower military battlefield veterans wwii d-day d-day commemoration national cemeteries gettysburg national cemetery gettysburg gettysburg national military park
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
