El Paso Chapter Of 82nd Airborne To Hold D-Day Event Today

Today is the 75th anniversary of the day thousands of American, British, and Canadian troops stormed the beaches of Normandy to begin the invasion of Nazi occupied France. The troops landed on the beaches, parachuted in, and fought to recover France from the Nazis, turning the tide of the war and set the stage for the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Today at 6 p.m. the El Paso Chapter of the 82nd Airborne will sponsor a Commemorative Event in recognition of the 75th Anniversary of the World War II D-Day Invasion of Normandy. A monument honoring the meritorious and exemplary military career of LTC (Ret.) Robert E. "Bob" Chisolm will also be unveiled.

Chisolm, combat veteran of the 508th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division, will be joined by fellow WWII veteran CSM (Ret.) Kenneth J. "Rock" Merritt. These highly decorated Airborne veterans are members of the 82nd Airborne Division's "All American" Hall of Fame.

The event is being held at Chisolm Park at the intersection of Alabama & Harrison Avenue, across the Street from Clendenin Elementary School.

This is the kind of event that kids should be take to. They need to be made aware that even though D-Day happened 75 years ago, the events of the day reverberate even today. The countries that took place in the invasion formed the nexus of the United Nations, they enacted treaties that keep the world safe even now. We owe everything to this generation of men who fought and died on the beaches of Normandy. Without them and their sacrifice, we would be living in a very different world.