World War II Veterans Honored With D-Day Ceremony In Suffolk

HAUPPAUGE, NY — World War II veterans were honored on Tuesday — the 79th anniversary of D-Day — in Suffolk County.

An American flag was raised at Armed Forces Plaza at the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge to recognize those who took part in one of the most significant military operations in United States history. D-Day was instrumental in liberating Western Europe and the defeat of Nazi Germany.

"This decisive battle in that war, which we commemorate today, fundamentally was about what kind of world are we going to live in? A world of freedom? Or tyranny?" Suffolk Executive Steve Bellone said. "D-Day veterans and World War II veterans fought for freedom."

Earlier in the week, the county flew an American flag donated by the Theodore Roosevelt Association and flown over former president Roosevelt's home at Sagamore Hill, at Veterans Plaza to honor the soldiers who fought to save the world. That flag is now headed to France and will be displayed at several observances for the 79th Anniversary of D-Day. At the end of its journey, the flag will be presented to American Legion Post #1 in Paris, France.

"The spirit of these soldiers will live on through the American people who will never forget what was sacrificed for them," Bellone wrote on Facebook.

Bellone traveled to Normandy, France, in 2019, where he raised an American flag at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Omaha Beach on the 75th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion. The same flag has been raised every June 6 at the H. Lee Dennison Building to honor all who have served. Nearly 90,000 veterans reside in Suffolk County, which is home to the largest veterans' population in New York, according to the county.

The flag is permanently displayed in the H. Lee Dennison Building lobby to honor the heroism and sacrifice of D-Day veterans and all WWII veterans.

Bellone mentioned the Ukrainian counteroffensive against its Russian invaders, harkening back to D-Day.

"Today, as we mark the 79th anniversary of the D-Day invasion to liberate Europe from tyranny, we see war once again raging on the continent," he said. "We see a people — the Ukrainian people — refusing to be subjugated by a tyrannical leader. Somehow it may not be coincidental that the long awaited counteroffensive in Ukraine to push back invading forces is happening as the world remembers D-Day. This is a fight that we as Americans intuitively understand. We recognize that desire, that yearning, to be free."