The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum is planning a big celebration to remember the 70th anniversary of the Normandy invasion, or D-Day.

On June 6th, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” 

Eisenhower’s namesake library and museum in his hometown of Abilene is planning a D-Day + 70 Years celebration on June 6th and 7th. 

D-Day + 70 Years will include a flyover, military reenactments, concerts including the 1st Infanrty Division Band and a sunset symphony, panel discussions featuring first hand accounts, military displays including current and vintage vehicles, a remembrance cermony, and more.

More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6th, 1944, the Allies gained a foothold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high, with more than 9,000 Allied soldiers killed or wounded. The invasion, though, was the beginning of the end of the Nazis. More than 100,000 Soldiers began the march across Europe to defeat Hitler.

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Online: D-Day + 70 Years