Los Angeles County’s Department of Military and Veterans Affairs will host an afternoon of remembrance of the Allied D-Day invasion in Normandy, France — the beginning of the end of WWII — 75 years later at Bob Hope Patriotic Hall, in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, June 6, at 1 p.m.

On June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord landed nine divisions of sea and airborne troops of more than 150,000 men along a 50-mile stretch of coast in 24 hours.

On D-Day, three airborne divisions, the British 6th, and the American 82nd and 101st dropped behind the landing beaches before sunrise.

After daybreak, divisions of U.S., British and Canadian troops assaulted the five landing beaches, code-named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.

Open to the public, the event will include a dedication ceremony, a historical exhibit representing all military branches, period singers, reenactors, and a film screening of “The Longest Day,” courtesy of 21st Century Fox and VetFlicks.

The French Consulate of Los Angeles will award local World War II Veterans who served on D-Day with the French Legion of Honor Medal, the highest honor in France.

Recipients include:
* Lieutenant Colonel Sam Sachs, U.S. Army Reserve (Ret), 104 years-old, who served as Company Commander of the 325th Glider Infantry attached to the 82nd Airborne Division.

* Captain Joseph Kirshenbaum, 99 years-old, who served as an Ordinance Officer, first with the 313th Ordinance Battalion and later with the HQ 82nd Ordinance Group.

* Ruth A. Wong, Brigadier General, USAF (ret), MVA Director said, “We will never forget the legacy of the greatest generation. D-Day began the liberation of France from Nazi forces, defending democracy at home and abroad, paving the way for world peace.”

Bob Hope Patriotic Hall is located at 1816 S. Figueroa St. in downtown Los Angeles.

R.S.V.P. to Kathleen Piché, 213-765-9621, kpiche@mva.lacounty.gov or Jenai Davis, 213-765-9228, JDavis@mva.lacounty.gov.