WWII Valley veterans honored in special D-Day ceremony

The "Sounds of Freedom" Band played proudly for over 300 Valley veterans and their families at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District on the 75th Anniversary of D-Day.

The dinner and ceremony honored those who served and survived World War Two and those who never came home.

Vern Schmidt, who landed on Utah Beach on D-Day, hasn't stopped serving since.

He now leads several veterans groups and traveled back to France, just last year.

"A year ago today, I was in Normandy and participated in laying a wreath at one of the monuments, this very same day," said Schmidt.

Other veterans, like Joseph Solza ,fought in the Battle of the Bulge and carried out his wounded buddy on his back.

And Elsa Berry enlisted in the Navy herself to watch over her little brother who entered the service when he was only 17.

All the World War Two vets or their family members received medallions with their names engraved on them as a memento of the event in their honor.

Many of the veterans are in their nineties but still recall the horrors and the victories of war.

And they stood at attention to salute their country, united in service of life and liberty.

"It's great to be an American and it's great to have that American flag that's a symbol of freedom," Schmidt said.

According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, less than 500,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War Two alive today.