COLUMBUS – The National Veterans Memorial and Museum is ramping up to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
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The downtown Columbus museum is hosting a special “veterans voices” event Thursday that will feature a firsthand account by retired U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Don Jakeway. His story is also featured at the museum.
Jakeway was dropped behind enemy lines just before the Normandy invasion of June 6, 1944, while serving as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division. He’ll be joined in the discussion by fellow World War II veterans Jack Welsh and Carl Strout.
The event will be led by retired U.S. Army Col. Peter Monsoor and General Raymond Mason Jr., chair of military history at Ohio State University.
The museum opened in October. It’s free for veterans and active-duty military personnel.
The largest amphibious assault in history took place 75 years ago as more than 150,000 American, British, and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of heavily fortified French coast, resulting in over 4,000 Allied casualties on the first day alone. Code-named Operation Overlord, the Normandy campaign led to the liberation of France and the beginning of the end of World War II in Europe.
Activities at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton Thursday morning will include a wreath-laying ceremony and flyover by two C-47 transport airplanes similar to those used to carry airborne troops into Normandy in 1944.
A new augmented reality exhibit titled “D-Day: Freedom from Above,” opened at the museum on May 13 and will be available through the end of the year.