When 43 WWII veterans land in Normandy on a historic flight, the whole local population comes out to welcome them — but it wasn’t just the Normans waiting. The Best Defense Foundation team was received on the Deauville Airport tarmac with open arms on Thursday. Several groups, including local elementary schools, regional and local officials, American military personnel, the press, WWII reenactor groups, and the general public, applauded as each veteran walked down the airplane staircase.

When America and her Allies liberated concentration camps throughout Europe from 1944 to 1945, it created waves that continued to ripple throughout history. Those saved went on to have families, many appreciative of the sacrifices the soldiers, sailors, and airmen made to liberate their families. What many of our WWII soldiers may not have known at the time is how grateful the children of Holocaust survivors would be.

Almost 79 years ago, American military members and their allies were preparing for D-Day, the start of the fight to liberate Normandy, France, from her Nazi occupiers. Today, the Best Defense Foundation is kicking off the 79th Anniversary of D-Day Battlefield Return Program to Normandy with the sole mission of “taking care of those who took care of us.” 43 WWII veterans, many of whom fought throughout France, are making the great pilgrimage back to the land they liberated almost eight decades ago.