PEABODY — City Veterans Service Officer Stephen Patten served in the 82nd Airborne Division from 2008 to 2012 and he will take time to remember the storied unit’s role in D-Day, the Allied invasion of France, 74 years ago on June 6.
“I don’t think there is enough that happens for D-Day,” Patten said.
Veterans agents and veterans in neighboring communities agree with Patten. They also realize the challenge active veterans face as the last of the men and women who liberated Europe from Nazi Germany die off.
Even the youngest veterans who stormed the Normandy beaches, parachuted or dropped into the French countryside in gliders or who shelled and bombed German military positions are in their 90s.
Sweeney, Patten and other area veterans agents could not name a D-Day veteran still living in their communities.
As the voices of D-Day are stilled or confined to recordings, veterans agents said younger generations must keep the light illuminating the history of D-Day burning bright.
Lynn Mayor Thomas M. McGee, the son of a World War II Pacific theater veteran, on Tuesday stressed the importance of remembering D-Day.
“Through their bravery and sacrifice, those who fought on D-Day and all the service members who served in WWII ensured the survival of liberty,” said McGee. “Today we honor those who served in the D-day assault forces at the beaches of Normandy and remember the sacrifices they made to ensure our continued democracy 74 years ago.”
Former Swampscott veterans agent James Schultz said D-Day’s legacy will endure if schools take up the challenge of educating students about the day’s significance.
“They’re the ones who have the kids’ attention all of the time,” Schultz said.
William Doucette, commander of the Saugus Veterans of Foreign Wars Arthur DeFranzo post, said veterans and educators can work together to encourage young people to attend Memorial Day ceremonies and parades. Their attendance and participation in the annual federal holiday that falls on the last Monday of May can set the stage, Doucette said, for a detailed discussion of D-Day a week later.
Patten said D-Day is remembered by members of the 82nd Airborne and other units that fought on D-Day with an almost religious reverence. He said the 82nd is well-represented in Peabody’s veterans community and said veterans can band with comrades in other communities to organize regional salutes to those who fought on D-Day.
Lynnfield Veterans Services Director Bruce Siegel said the town has the opportunity to remember local D-Day veterans as it plans a new war memorial. Slated to be built on a site near the Meeting House on Main Street, the memorial is tentatively scheduled to include the names of town veterans not already inscribed on the existing town memorial.
Sweeney said remembering D-Day is an obligation that extends beyond veterans to all Americans.
“When we say we’re never going to forget about someone’s service, we have to mean it: It’s a message to those serving that these are not just words,” he said.
Attempts to reach veterans agents in Marblehead, Nahant and Revere were unsuccessful. Sweeney is currently veterans agent for Swampscott under an arrangement between the town and Lynn.
