CAF Dixie Wing Inviting WWII Veterans to Honor 75th Anniversary of D-Day at WW II Heritage Days in April

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. (Sept.12, 2018) – The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Dixie Wing hopes to have at least 75 WWII veterans attend to help commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Europe next spring. The historic event will be commemorated around the world in 2019, including the 16th annual WWII Heritage Days, April 27-28, 2019, at Atlanta Regional Airport-Falcon Field in Peachtree City.

“We had more than 60 veterans at WWII Heritage Days in 2018,” said Jim Buckley, leader of the all-volunteer CAF Dixie Wing. “We are reaching out to invite even more representatives of the Greatest Generation to join us and become the largest gathering of WWII veterans in Georgia.”

The Dixie Wing is reaching out to veterans’ groups and individuals to bring as many veterans as possible to share in the 2019 weekend of events. To participate, send your contact information to wwiihd@wwiidays.org or call the Dixie Wing and leave a message at 678-364-1110.

The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Dixie Wing will recreate the 1940s era with the music of Glenn Miller at a Hangar Dance and displays of historic aircraft, military vehicles, antique cars and vintage fashion. WWII veterans will be honored throughout the weekend. Throughout the weekend, more than 500 volunteers will conduct special events such as Allied and Axis troops in reenactment battles, 1940s music shows, veteran and historian presentations, education displays and activities for children. On Saturday evening, the romance and glamor of the Big Band Era will return during “Keep ‘em Flying”, a 1940s-theme hangar dance featuring a live 20-piece swing band.

Historians consider WWII the pivotal event of the Twentieth Century, involving more than 30 countries and 100 million people from 1939 to 1945. The United States’ entry in the war in 1941 ultimately provided the Allies with a decisive advantage as the Arsenal of Democracy. According to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs statistics, 558,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II were alive in 2017.

For more information about WWII Heritage Days, please visit www.wwiidays.org.

Photo credit: John Willhoff More than 60 WWII veterans attended the 2018 WWII Heritage Days in Peachtree City, and the CAF Dixie Wing is hoping to have 75 in attendance in 2019 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day.