Public Media from Michigan State University

Local Veterans Remember 75th Anniversary of D-Day Invasion

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Thursday marks the 75th anniversary of the United States invasion of Normandy in the Second World War.

Veterans of multiple wars gathered for The Michigan State University Retirees Association Military History Study Group's presentation on the limitations of planning D-Day.

Ninety-five year old veteran, Bill Root was in the Navy. He served as a radar maintenance officer in the Pacific  Theatre. Root has conflicting feelings on the use of nuclear weapons against Japan. In August 1945, the US dropped atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, precipitating Japan's surrender and the end of the war.

Two days after the D-Day invasion, Root's brother was killed in action. He remembers his brother by visiting Normandy any chance he can get. Through his brother's death, he became more interested in what really happened.

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Tamia Boyd helps gather news content for online and on-air.