Witness the heroic story of the C-47 Skytrain, the workhorse that delivered 18,000 paratroopers behind enemy lines on D-Day.

BEDFORD, Va. (WSET) — June 6, 2025 is the 81st anniversary of the day Allied forces invaded Nazi-occupied France to breach Hitler's defenses in western Europe, known as Operation Overlord.

Though World War II lasted nearly another year in Europe, the success of Operation Overlord led to the liberation of France and allowed the Allies to fight the Germans in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Tolley Fletcher, at the time a 19-year-old Navy gunner's mate, remembers the rough seas and the treacherous landing troops made at Utah Beach.

Though World War II lasted nearly another year in Europe, the success of Operation Overlord led to the liberation of France and allowed the Allies to fight the Germans in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Day, the first day of the Normandy landings that laid the foundations for the Allied defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Starting in August of 1942 American bombers began hitting German occupied France, Belgium, Norway and Holland. By 1943 Germany proper was being bombed. North Africa and Sicily were in Allied hands ...

One of the rare people to know about the operation in advance was Jean Sims, 22, a codebreaker who had noticed the use of the phrase "Overlord" in the communique she decoded daily.

On May 19, 1944, two and a half weeks before the 'Operation Overlord' landings took place, Princess Elizabeth spent the day with her parents inspecting airborne troops in the north of England.