SARASOTA, Fla. — Thursday, June 6 marks 80 years since the D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France. Thousands will gather there along with President Biden and other world leaders for special ceremonies to commemorate the day.
A Tampa Bay-area choir is also playing a role in the tributes. The Choral Artists of Sarasota arrived in Normandy this week. They will take part in the ceremonies at the Normandy American Cemetery which contains the graves of 9,387 American soldiers, most of whom died during the landings and ensuing operations. They will also perform at the Brittany American Cemetery.
They are part of the choral ensemble invited to perform at several events to honor their bravery and sacrifice.
"More than 4,400 men died and are buried in Normandy, and that's twice the amount of people that died from U.S. military action during the entire Afghanistan campaign of 20 years and that was in that one 24-hour period," Dr. Joseph Holt, the artistic director at the Choral Artists of Sarasota, said.
The weight of that history has made the trip to France extra special for more than 40 members of the Choral Artists of Sarasota.
Along with performing in official ceremonies at the cemeteries, they'll also perform in Sainte-Mère-Èglise. This was the first town liberated by the Americans in 1944 during the largest amphibious invasion in military history.
"Being here is really quite poignant because we are here to really commemorate the men, the many hundreds of thousands of men who participated in D-Day and risked their lives to secure freedom for the world, fighting the Nazis and freeing Europe," Dr. Holt said.
According to Holt, the group was anonymously nominated by a highly placed retired U.S. military officer who lives in the area.
However, the surprise invitation from the American Battle Monuments Commission two years ago was originally for the 79th anniversary.
"But then we had Hurricane Ian flow through the area and that created a little bit of a problem so we decided it was best if we postponed it. We asked them if we could delay it by a year and they said sure, no problem, and then so it became the 80th anniversary," he said.
Along with patriotic songs. the group will perform the special feature music "Hymn to the Fallen" by John Williams.
"It comes from the movie 'Saving Private Ryan' so if you can imagine 1,000 people there, over 350 singers and 600 instrumental from across the country that'll be playing this very poignant piece that came from the end of that movie," Holt said.
More than 2 million people are expected in the Normandy area this week where events will end with a parade that will also include uplifting 1940s music.
"The big band was what the men and women were listening to at the time which is so upbeat and positive considering what they were going through on a day-by-day basis and dealing with the onslaught of the Nazis," he said.
The choral group will be in Normandy until Saturday before they begin to make their way back to Paris and eventually back home to Sarasota.