D-Day invasion remembered in Madison: "I was 27 years old"

MADISON (WITI) -- The state capital honors World War II veterans in a ceremony for the 70th anniversary of the invasion by Allied forces in France.

It involved what the U.S. Military called Operation Overlord, but the world knows June 6th, 1944 as D-Day.

"We took off, in gliders, on 'D-plus-one," Raymond Nelson, WWII veteran. "The Germans, I guess, had a pretty good idea of where we were gonna land."

On this day, 70 years ago, the Allied invasion of occupied France marked what is widely regarded as the beginning of the end for the Nazis.

"You can't forget it, but, unlike a lot of guys, all the death that I saw--it didn't bother me," said Nelson.

The former member of the US Army's 82nd Airborne Glider Infantry recalls being one of the more than 150,000 soldiers who took part in the largest seaborne invasion in history.

"I still feel overwhelmed, and, of course, I've been blessed with a long life," said Nelson."By the time of the D-Day, I was 27 years old."

Hundreds of people came out to show their support as World War Two veteran after World War Two veteran is honored for their service.

"No matter what the politics is, at the state--at the time, we need to have a little bit of pride, in ourselves, as a nation, for what we've done," said Lindsay Mothering, uncle served during WWII.

Nelson says his relatives and friends came to support him at the event.

The organizers of the D-Day+70 event say they printed 300 programs, but 500 patriots showed up.