Ehrlich Also to Host Veterans of Maryland’s 29th Infantry Division at May 19th Reception
ANNAPOLIS – Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., announced plans to travel to Normandy, France to recognize the 60th Anniversary of the Allied landing at Normandy on D-Day during World War II. Governor Ehrlich will be joined on the trip by dozens of Maryland veterans from the 29th Infantry Division, which landed at Normandy on June 6, 1944. The Governor’s public schedule for the trip will be available before his departure.
“More than 5,000 brave Marylanders served their country on D-Day and beyond,” said Governor Ehrlich. “They fought and died so that we could live in freedom. We have an obligation to remember the challenges our parents and grandparents overcame to preserve liberty and free Europe. I look forward to attending the D-Day ceremonies with them in June.”
Nearly 5,000 Marylanders served in the 29th Infantry Division, which received world acclaim for their D-Day landings. Of the five U.S. Divisions, only the 29th was a National Guard unit, which was originally composed primarily of soldiers from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The division sustained approximately 20,000 casualties over the course of the war. This could be the final anniversary for many of the “29ers”, many of whom are over 80 years old. More than 1,000 World War II veterans die per day across the nation.
The D-Day ceremonies will include an Airborne drop by the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions between Cherbourg and Chateau, and an International Commemoration Ceremony at Colleville Cemetary near Omaha Beach. President George W. Bush is expected to attend.
Governor Ehrlich will also be joined by First Lady Kendel S. Ehrlich, George W. Owings, III, Secretary-Designee of the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs, Colonel Thomas E. “Tim” Hutchins, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police, Major General Bruce F. Tuxill, Adjutant General of the Maryland Military Department, and R. Karl Aumann, Maryland Secretary of State. The Governor’s trip will last from June 4 to June 7.