Veterans Memorial Museum in Fresno needs boxes, volunteers to help with D-Day donations

Thursday, June 6, 2019
Memories of D-Day and the storming of Normandy Beach aren't relegated to old film.

At the Veterans Memorial Museum in downtown Fresno, you'll also find display cases full of weapons and gear used in the iconic battle 75 years ago.

Local veterans like Don Newland don't want the younger generation to ever forget D-Day.

"I think it really represents a lot of people that were willing to give their lives, their time, their future," he says.

The Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord was one of the greatest battles in modern history.

"It is the saving of the free world and that is something that our country has always stepped forward to help with
and one of the things that makes us unique and special in the global community," he says.

Every item in the museum has been donated, including the 20,000 books on military history which are kept in a library.

The family of a veteran in Bakersfield who recently passed away wanted the museum to have his collection of 7,000 books.

Staffers are grateful for each one. They say it has a lot more sentimental value than something on an iPad.

Local vets put out word they needed boxes and a truck to pick up the books and the community responded.

Museum volunteers say they can use more boxes to pack the 7,000 books. They're making the trip on Sunday.
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