WWII Veteran returns to Normandy for D-Day anniversary
LINCOLN HEIGHTS, Ohio (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - An World War II Veteran from Ohio is preparing to head to Normandy this week to be part of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
He was invited because of his special connection to the event as he was there in 1944.
D-Day, those four letters, say enough to fill countless history books, but what happened in Normandy isn't something Richard Stewart has to read. He remembers.
He was there in the middle of the chaos, part of a communications unit repairing wires, more concerned about the line of fire. He recalls a bomb dropping and says it felt like an earthquake.
To have those memories, you'd have to be nearly 100 years old, and Stewart is 103, and he's doing something that, back then, he thought he never would: He's going back.
Stewart got a letter from a student and teacher personally inviting him to this year's ceremony in Normandy to thank him face to face for his part. It's still celebrated every June 6 among the tombstones.
Stewart is now one, in the dwindling numbers, of those who have survived both D-Day and time.
As Stewart prepares for his trip to Normandy, he knows one thing: It might be difficult at 103, but it's sure to be better than his first trip.
