June 6,  marks the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of WWII. While the day honors an event that is long since past, it has not lost the significance of the moment in history that it marks.  The NBC networks have noted this is also an anniversary that will possibly one of the last of its kind as most of the allied forces veterans are now in their 90s.

According to history.com, After World War II began, Germany invaded and occupied northwestern France beginning in May 1940. The Americans entered the war in December 1941, and by 1942 they and the British (who had been evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk in May 1940 after being cut off by the Germans in the Battle of France) were considering the possibility of a major Allied invasion across the English Channel. The following year, Allied plans for a cross-Channel invasion began to ramp up. In November 1943, Adolf Hitler, who was aware of the threat of an invasion along France’s northern coast, put Erwin Rommel in charge of spearheading defense operations in the region, even though the Germans did not know exactly where the Allies would strike. Hitler charged Rommel with finishing the Atlantic Wall, a 2,400-mile fortification of bunkers, landmines and beach and water obstacles.

In January 1944, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower was appointed the commander of Operation Overlord. In the months and weeks before D-Day, the Allies carried out a massive deception operation intended to make the Germans think the main invasion target was Pas-de-Calais (the narrowest point between Britain and France) rather than Normandy. In addition, they led the Germans to believe that Norway and other locations were also potential invasion targets. Many tactics were used to carry out the deception, including fake equipment; a phantom army commanded by Gen. George Patton and supposedly based in England, across from Pas-de-Calais; double agents; and fraudulent radio transmissions.

Eisenhower had originally chosen June 5, 1944, as the date that allied forces would invade the beaches of Normandy, France. However, due to poor weather, ‘Operation Overlord,’ was delayed for 24 hours. When conditions improved, more than 5,000 ships and landing craft crossed the English Channel to France.

By dawn on June 6, thousands of paratroopers and glider troops were already on the ground behind enemy lines, securing bridges and exit roads. The amphibious invasions began at 6:30 a.m. The British and Canadians overcame light opposition to capture beaches codenamed Gold, Juno and Sword, as did the Americans at Utah Beach. U.S. forces faced heavy resistance at Omaha Beach, where there were over 2,000 American casualties. However, by day’s end, approximately 156,000 Allied troops had successfully stormed Normandy’s beaches. According to some estimates, more than 4,000 Allied troops lost their lives in the D-Day invasion, with thousands more wounded or missing. Less than a week later, on June 11, the beaches were fully secured and over 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles and some 100,000 tons of equipment had landed at Normandy.

By August of 1944, the Allies had made it to the Seine River, Paris was given freedom, and the Germans were removed from Northwestern France. On May 8, 1945, the Allies accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany.

The Chicago Tribune noted that in 2019, the anniversary of D-Day will be marked by events in Normandy, that will include parades, fireworks displays, air shows, military re-enactments and more. The official commemoration on June 6 will bring together heads of state and government officials for an invitation-only ceremony. However, nearby areas — including D-Day sites and museums— will be open to the public. Other events will include the inauguration of the British Normandy Memorial on June 6.

Across the English Channel, a D-Day 75 Revival will be held June 8 and 9 in Southwick, near Portsmouth. The two-day event includes talks by military historians, a World War II vehicle display, and free walking history tours. A Daks Over Normandy event will kick off June 2-5 at Duxford Airfield before moving to the Caen Carpiquet Airport in Normandy June 5-9. The sky will be filled with Douglas DC-3/C-47 Dakotas (“Daks” for short) flown in from around the globe.

The ceremonies are expected to be a time of solemn remembrance as well as a celebration of liberty and those who gave their lives so that the world could have it.