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80th anniversary of D-Day: WWII veteran travels from metro Atlanta to Normandy – WSB-TV Channel 2

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80th anniversary of D-Day: WWII veteran travels from metro Atlanta to Normandy – WSB-TV Channel 2

NORMANDY, France — Thursday marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of northwest Europe during World War II. A Metro Atlanta veteran traveled to Normandy, France, to mark the solemn occasion.

Alan Kinder, 99, served in the 14th Field Artillery Observation Battalion during World War II. He worked with ground microphones to detect enemy fire.

“Imagine wearing this every day,” Kinder said as he tried on a helmet similar to the one he wore 80 years ago. “It brought back a lot of memories.”

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Kinder had just completed basic training at Fort Lewis, Washington, on June 6, 1944, when more than 156,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy.

“We landed here in Utah, but it was the middle of the night.”

He arrived at Utah Beach about two months after D-Day. By then the war had spread inland.

“And for the next month, we just drove around the country,” Kinder said.

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He continued the war to Germany, where he remembers spending a very cold Thanksgiving.

“We told your moms you were going to have Thanksgiving dinner. So we had them. So we had gelatinous sauce and frozen meat,” he said.

As the memories came flooding back, Kinder was able to share it all with his grandson Justin, who took a photo while Kinder put on his helmet.

Kinder marveled at how he and his comrades had traveled hundreds of miles across Europe with such heavy equipment.

“Between this and these wool clothes, I don’t know how we transported all these things,” he said.

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80th anniversary of the Landing: The RAF Red Arrows display team perform at the IWM Airshow at Duxford in Cambridgeshire on June 2. (Joe Giddens – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)

80th anniversary of the Landing: The RAF Red Arrows display team perform at the IWM Duxford air show in Cambridgeshire. (Joe Giddens – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)

80th anniversary of the Landing: The RAF Red Arrows display team perform at the IWM Airshow at Duxford in Cambridgeshire on June 2. (Joe Giddens – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)

80th anniversary of the Landing: U.S. soldiers parachute into Carentan-les-Marais, France, June 2, 2024. The soldiers kicked off ceremonies for the 80th anniversary of D-Day on June 6. (Lou Benoist/AFP/AFP via Getty Images)

80th anniversary of the Landing: U.S. soldiers parachute from a Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft in Carentan-les-Marais, France, June 2, 2024. (LOU BENOIST/aFP/AFP via Getty Images)

80th anniversary of the Landing: Soldiers monitor paratroopers from a Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft over Normandy. (LOU BENOIST/aFP/AFP via Getty Images)

80th anniversary of the Landing: Round canopy paratroopers in England prepare to board a Douglas C47 aircraft, known as the Dakota, which became the world’s best-known transport aircraft and was used extensively by the Allies during the Second War worldwide. (Joe Giddens – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)

80th anniversary of the Landing: Paratroopers with round canopy prepare to board a Douglas C47 plane before flying over Normandy. (Joe Giddens – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)

80th anniversary of the Landing: A skydiver waits to board the Douglas C47 plane. (Joe Giddens – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)

80th anniversary of the Landing: Round canopy skydivers prepare to board a Douglas C47 aircraft. (Joe Giddens – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)

80th anniversary of the Landing: Soldiers gather around “That’s All, Brother,” a World War II-era C47 aircraft. (HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

80th anniversary of the Landing: A man with the tattoo of the French Foreign Legion’s metal parachute wings on his head is seen near the Bayeux war cemetery in Normandy. (NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

80th anniversary of the Landing: The Sainte-Mère-Eglise church with a well-known replica of the American paratrooper John Steele of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, whose parachute caught on the church’s spire. Neighborhood residents are preparing this week for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. (NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

80th anniversary of the Landing: Cows watch a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter fly over Carentan-les-Marais, as the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the Landings approach. (LOU BENOIST/AFP via Getty Images)

80th anniversary of the Landing: Enthusiasts wearing replica World War II military outfits stand atop tanks at a historical reenactment camp. (LOU BENOIST/AFP via Getty Images)

80th anniversary of the Landing: The Supermarine Spitfire N3200 lands at the IWM Duxford air show in Cambridgeshire on Sunday. (Joe Giddens – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)

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