AUBURN - The invasion of Normandy during World War II took place 62 years ago, but its impact has stayed with the lives of many for all those years.
Jason Rearick / The Citizen
Chaplain Paul Freemesser greets members of the 299th Combat Engineers, who stormed the beaches of Normandy, before the D-Day commemoration ceremony in front of the Cayuga County Office Building Friday.
Chaplain Paul Freemesser greets members of the 299th Combat Engineers, who stormed the beaches of Normandy, before the D-Day commemoration ceremony in front of the Cayuga County Office Building Friday.
“No one wanted to talk about the invasion,” said Dom DeBenedetto who fought with his fellow soldiers and friends in the 299th Combat Engineer Battalion with company A on that fateful day in 1944. “We were the first to hit the beach that day. It was terrible. We had explosives on our backs and we were diving in the waters.”
Auburn lost six men on the shores of Omaha Beach in what has gone down in history as D-Day.
On the 50th anniversary of the Normandy invasion, a group of citizens came together to commemorate the memory of these men and erect a monument on the lawn of the county office building. Each year since the community comes together the Friday before the June 6 anniversary to honor these men.
“This is a thanksgiving for what we do and what we have accomplished,” Chaplain Paul Freemesser said during the memorial Friday afternoon. “We must take a moment to remember the Army, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and all of the other men and women who put their lives at risk for us.”
“You truly are our heroes,” said Cayuga County Sheriff, Rob Outhouse. “You give us the strength to do what we have to do.”
According to DeBenedetto, himself and other men from Auburn were the first on the beach during the invasion and it is still a big part of who they are today.
“We were just 18 or 19 years old,” he said. “We were doing what we were sent there to do.”
“These men are the bravest of the brave from the greatest generation,” said state Sen. Michael Nozzolio. “The 299th combat engineers answered the call that day. I thank you. We all thank you.”
Nozzolio commended the citizens of Auburn for carrying on the memory of these men as well as the men who were fortunate enough to return home.
“The best memorial is that of the living,” he said.
Auburn lost six men on the shores of Omaha Beach in what has gone down in history as D-Day.
On the 50th anniversary of the Normandy invasion, a group of citizens came together to commemorate the memory of these men and erect a monument on the lawn of the county office building. Each year since the community comes together the Friday before the June 6 anniversary to honor these men.
“This is a thanksgiving for what we do and what we have accomplished,” Chaplain Paul Freemesser said during the memorial Friday afternoon. “We must take a moment to remember the Army, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and all of the other men and women who put their lives at risk for us.”
“You truly are our heroes,” said Cayuga County Sheriff, Rob Outhouse. “You give us the strength to do what we have to do.”
According to DeBenedetto, himself and other men from Auburn were the first on the beach during the invasion and it is still a big part of who they are today.
“We were just 18 or 19 years old,” he said. “We were doing what we were sent there to do.”
“These men are the bravest of the brave from the greatest generation,” said state Sen. Michael Nozzolio. “The 299th combat engineers answered the call that day. I thank you. We all thank you.”
Nozzolio commended the citizens of Auburn for carrying on the memory of these men as well as the men who were fortunate enough to return home.
“The best memorial is that of the living,” he said.
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