Fort Miles to host D-Day remembrance June 6
To honor the memory of the 40 Delawareans who lost their lives during the Battle of Normandy in 1944, Fort Miles Historical Association will conduct a ceremony at 10 a.m., Friday, June 6, at the Fort Miles Museum Overlook event venue in Cape Henlopen State Park.
On June 6, 1944, nearly five years after Nazi Germany invaded Poland and World War II began, 156,000 Allied troops stormed beaches in northern France initiating Operation Overlord, later known as the Battle of Normandy. Within a few days of the invasion, approximately 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles and some 100,000 tons of equipment had landed. The Battle of Normandy concluded in late July 1944 when American forces launched Operation COBRA, aimed at breaking through German lines near Saint-Lô. With the start of COBRA, the Normandy campaign ended, and Allied forces turned their sights toward clearing northern France of German forces and liberating Paris. During the Battle of Normandy, United States forces suffered more than 125,000 casualties, including 21,000 killed in action. Some 40 men from Delaware died while engaged with German forces.
Keynote speaker Ed Paterline, FMHA historian, will recount the exploits of the U.S. Army’s 29th Infantry Division during the assault on the beaches at Normandy. The Rev. Carol Flett will deliver the ceremony’s invocation and benediction, and speak briefly about Army Chaplain Morris Arnold, who went ashore at Normandy with the Allied invasion forces. Local artist Paul Rendel will speak about his inspiration for painting a tribute to the soldiers at Normandy on D-Day. The chaplain’s kit carried by Morris Arnold and a print of the Rendel painting will be on display in the Fort Miles Museum after the ceremony.
Near the end of the ceremony, FMHA volunteers will read the names of each brave soldier, and a ship’s bell will toll after each name. The Mason Dixon VFW Post 7234 Honor Guard will provide a rifle salute and play taps after the names are tolled. The ceremony will conclude with bagpiper and Air Force veteran Lani Spahr playing “Amazing Grace.”
Following the ceremony, the Fort Miles Museum will be open to the public until 4 p.m. Learn more at fortmilesmuseum.org/fmha.
