History Center to commemorate 75th anniversary of D-Day

The Smithsonian-affiliated Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh will honor the 75th annivesary of D-Day with special programming on Thursday, June 6.
This year marks 75 years since Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, in what would become a major turning point of World War II, and the largest air, land and sea military operation on record.
Beginning at noon at the History Center on June 6, re-enactors from the Furious Fourth WWII Living History Group will march through downtown Pittsburgh in honor of local service members killed on D-Day.
The procession will conclude at 3 p.m. at the Southwestern Pennsylvania World War II Memorial on the North Shore.
At 7 p.m. that evening, the History Center will host a “D-Day at 75” public program where History Center curator Leslie Przybylek will offer a short presentation on the significant contributions Pittsburgh made to the winning war effort. Following the presentation, Todd DePastino of the Veterans Breakfast Club will moderate a special panel of local D-Day veterans who will share their riveting first-hand accounts of the invasion of Normandy.
Those attending the evening program will have after-hours access to the History Center’s exhibit, “The Vietnam War: 1945-1975.”
Admission to all “D-Day at 75” programming is free and open to the public.
Registration for the evening program is encouraged at www.heinzhistorycenter.org/events.