Delta’s D-Day Flight

With the passing of time, the number of D-Day veterans still alive grows smaller and smaller. As a result to honour and remember their service, Delta Airlines teamed up with the Best Defense Foundation and Michelin to bring 29 of them, now all at least in their 90s, to Normany for June 6th.

The trip, the first for a U.S. airline to Normandy’s Deauville Airport, was months in the making. Teams from across the airline developed a plan, down to which aircraft type would be most suitable for the transAtlantic journey and arranging a flight crew also composed of military veterans.

Upon arrival, the veterans were greeted by U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco Denise Campbell Bauer, alongside local French dignitaries who supported the operation.

In Bayeux, the veterans connected with students, and each classroom hosted a World War II veteran.

Delta says that its employee base consists of more than 9,000 military veterans, and that the company’s foundation was built on the shoulders of many World War II veterans.

According to the airline: “Delta, the Best Defense Foundation and Michelin share the same commitment to servant leadership and our military veteran community, and their sponsorship of this trip afforded hundreds of people the opportunity to make a rare connection.”