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Fort Miles marks D-Day’s 81st anniversary

Names of fallen Delawareans read at ceremony
A ceremony was held on the Fort Miles Museum overlook June 6, commemorating the 81st anniversary of the D-Day invasion. The invasion was the beginning of the liberation of Europe in World War II. The museum overlook is 86 feet above the beach, about the same height as the cliffs above the Normandy beaches. BILL SHULL PHOTOS
Bill Shull
June 14, 2025

Will Short, the emcee of the Fort Miles D-Day memorial ceremony, asked the audience at the museum overlook to think about the similarities to Normandy on June 6, 1944.

“We’re 86 feet above sea level on the Great Dune overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. I can just imagine what it must have felt like for those brave and courageous men in those landing craft, knowing that entrenched Germans in pillboxes were awaiting them when they came ashore,” Short said. “We’re here to honor them.”

The Fort Miles overlook is about the same height as the cliffs of Normandy.

Short led the Fort Miles Historical Association’s fourth annual D-Day commemoration June 6, marking 81 years to the day since the invasion of Normandy.

About 156,000 Allied troops stormed the beaches that day, the beginning of the end of German occupation of France.

The United States suffered 125,000 casualties in the Battle of Normandy, with 40 of the men killed being from Delaware. Their names were read aloud as a ship’s bell tolled in their honor.

The speakers at the Fort Miles event included Bill Szymczak, whose father served on the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Corry. The crew is credited with providing invaluable cover fire before it was sunk by German guns off Omaha Beach.

George McCarthy, 101, was also recognized for his service in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was far from France on D-Day, but said the invasion brought hope to American forces everywhere.

“I was in Kunming, China. We alls said, ‘Thank God, the war in Europe is going to be over and they’ll all be coming over here to help us fight in China,’” McCarthy said.

The ceremony was capped off with a rifle salute by the VFW Post 7234 honor guard and bagpipes played by Lani Spahr, a U.S. Air Force veteran.

 

George McCarthy, 101, attends the D-Day ceremony. He is a member of American Legion Post 17 in Lewes. McCarthy was stationed in China with the U.S. Army Air Corps on June 6, 1944. He said troops there were hopeful the invasion would end the war in Europe and bring more forces to fight in China.
Will Short, a volunteer at the Fort Miles Historical Association, emcees the annual D-Day memorial ceremony June 6.
Bill Szymczak speaks in honor of his father, William, who served on the Navy destroyer USS Corry that shelled Omaha Beach June 6, 1944. The ship was sunk by German guns during the invasion.
Nicholas Schimmel, grandson of the late Gary Wray, tolls the ship’s bell as the names of each of the 40 Delawareans who gave their lives in the Battle of Normandy are read aloud.
Ed Paterline, Fort Miles chief historian, talks about the action of the Army’s 29th Infantry Division June 6, 1944.
Lewes Police Chief Tom Spell salutes during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Lani Spahr, a Air Force veteran, plays the bagpipes.
The VFW Post 7234 honor guard performs a rifle salute in honor of those who gave their lives in the Battle of Normandy.

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Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Eagles, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.

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