12 minute read
RETURN TO NORMANDY
AMERICAN HEROES EMBARK ON THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME TO COMMEMORATE THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY
by Rachel Greene
On May 30, 2024, an American Airlines flight headed from Fort Worth, Texas, to Paris, France. After boarding more than 70 passengers, the flight taxied and took off. This wasn’t your normal transcontinental flight. The seats of the plane were occupied by a group that can only be described as true heroes: World War II veterans, Rosie the Riveters, a Holocaust survivor, Medal of Honor recipients and cadets and midshipmen from U.S. military service academies.
Eighty years before this historic flight, the United States military forces were gearing up for a historic moment of their own, a dangerous, potentially catastrophic operation codenamed “Operation Overlord.” After years of careful, confidential planning, the Allied Powers, comprised of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and various smaller countries, were finally ready to act. The pieces were in place for them to pull off an act of deception that they hoped and prayed the Nazi German forces would never see coming.
These Allied Powers had one goal: to liberate Western Europe from the clutches of Nazi control. In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, the plan was a go. A massive airborne and naval assault began simultaneously. Paratroopers fell from the sky, and more than 5,000 ships carried troops and equipment onto the beaches of Normandy. With no warning or ability to prepare for the invasion, Nazi forces tried to fight off the Allied troops, but ultimately failed, allowing the Allied Powers to secure the five beachheads: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, and thereby open a new front against the Nazi forces in Western Europe. Through the diligent planning by the Allied Powers, and through the bravery of more than 150,000 allied troops, this invasion, known as “D-Day,” was a significant turning point in the war, and was a significant contributing factor in the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany in May 1945.
Now, eight decades later, these surviving World War II veterans had the opportunity to return to the hallowed grounds where this integral day in history occurred, an incredible moment that marked the beginning of the end of the war, but also marked a tremendous loss of life. To the veterans, returning to Normandy was more than just a trip, and more than a chance to see tourist attractions. Returning to Normandy gave them the opportunity to remember and honor those who did not live to share their stories, and to appreciate the ultimate sacrifice that more than 425,000 allied and German troops made on that fateful day.
Randy Stillinger, Zeta Gamma (North Dakota), was given the immense privilege and responsibility of being at the helm of this historic trip. Stillinger joined Pi Kappa Phi at the University of North Dakota in 1989, and then transferred to the University of Minnesota, where he helped start an associate chapter of Pi Kappa Phi, keeping him involved in the Fraternity. After serving the first part of his career in Army aviation, Stillinger attended the Defense Information School at Fort Meade in Maryland. There, he trained to be a public affairs officer, which led to him joining the United States Army Reserve at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. In 2016, he combined his military aviation experience and public affairs background when he was hired as the manager of military and veterans initiatives at American Airlines. In this role, he supports veterans, current service men and women, including those who are ill or wounded and the families of those who have died in service to our nation. Planning the American Airlines Return to Normandy trip was no simple feat and needed more than a year of dedicated planning and preparation.
“During the 18-month planning period, I went to France four times in preparation for the big event in June,” said Stillinger. “In the six months leading up to the event, I spent every single moment planning and preparing for this historic mission, including many nights and weekends. I knew that I had one chance to ensure that this experience for these veterans was exceptional and worthy of their sacrifice.”
Having never been to Normandy before, every part of the planning process was unfamiliar to Stillinger. “The biggest challenge initially was finding hotels for 285 people during a week when so many people were coming into the Normandy region for this historic event,” said Stillinger. “Many of the hotels had been booked up for a few years, and others couldn’t accommodate wheelchairs and other amenities that we needed for the veterans. After that, we had to find ground transportation and food for the group, which was spread across four hotels in the region. The time zone difference, the restrictions due to the president and other important people in attendance as well as the language barrier only made things more difficult. Nothing was easy as we planned this mission.” To add to this unique set of challenges, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the average age of a living World War II veteran today is 98. The group on the trip ranged in age from 94 to 107, and so as one can imagine, ensuring their health and safety was no simple feat. To oversee this duty, a medical team of doctors, nurses and medics were enlisted to come along. This team remained vigilant in monitoring each veteran’s wellbeing, both on the 10-hour-long flight to and from Normandy and during the day-to-day activities. “We owe much of this trip’s success to these dedicated individuals,” said Stillinger.
While being mindful of the age and limitations of this group, the itinerary for the trip was still full of memorable experiences. The pinnacle of the trip was a ceremony on June 6 at the Normandy American Cemetery, the resting place for more than 9,000 United States service members who gave everything for their country, and for the free world. There, on the 80th anniversary, veterans were able to pay their respects, mourn their friends and fellow service members who were lost in the war effort and remember this moment that shifted the narrative of world history and kept freedom alive. The group also had the unique opportunity to meet notable individuals such as President Biden, French President Macron, several department of defense and congressional leaders, Prince Albert of Monaco, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. Every moment of this experience was carefully thought through and cultivated by Stillinger to provide an incredible experience for veterans and their families, one that they would cherish forever.
With the average age of World War II veterans being 98, it was crucial that this trip go off without a hitch, as many will not live to see the next milestone anniversary. It is no secret that the opportunity to hear stories directly from many World War II veterans is coming to an end. Stillinger hopes everyone takes advantage of the time that we have left with these individuals. “After living through the Great Depression, many of these veterans left home for two to three years, unsure when or if they’d ever return. Everyone should take the opportunity to meet and learn the stories of these World War II veterans because time is running out,” said Stillinger. “Remember that we now live freely because of what they endured 80 years ago. Appreciate them for what they’ve done, but also appreciate that you live in the greatest country in the world because of their service and sacrifice.”
For 50 cadets and midshipmen from our nation’s service academies, this trip offered the chance to meet and learn the stories of these veterans. “While they served primarily as our academy choir, one of the reasons we brought young men and women from our nation’s military service academies along was so they could hear stories and learn from these veterans,” said Stillinger. “I think it’s imperative for our nation’s future military leaders to learn from those who sacrificed so much during a tumultuous time across the world. American Airlines does something similar with our regular trips to the World War II Museum, where we pair the veterans up with high school students so they can get an education like no other.”
As Stillinger mentioned, these veterans lived through the economic turmoil of the Great Depression, and many enlisted in the service as soon as they could, at the age of 18. One veteran who did this was Henry Langrehr. Born in Iowa to a modest family, he spent his time as a child collecting scraps of metal to help his family make ends meet. He dropped out of high school and left his two jobs to enlist as soon as he learned about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. His first ever day of combat was June 6, 1944 – “D-Day.” He dropped into Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France, and went through the roof of a greenhouse. After weeks of fighting behind enemy lines, he was taken as a prisoner of war, sent to multiple camps and forced to work in a German coal mine. He finally escaped after months held captive and spent two weeks in enemy
territory before finding an American military unit. Throughout this time, he thought of his wife, Arlene, who was a “Rosie the Riveter” working in a factory back in the States. On this trip to Normandy, Langrehr visited the site of that greenhouse that he fell through on that day 80 years ago and shared his story with his fellow veterans and Stillinger. It is the veteran’s hope that by sharing his story, people will remember that in times of need, his generation pulled together to fight for what was right, both through military service and by working long hours back home to support the soldiers fighting overseas.
While all individuals on the trip were inspiring individuals with unique stories, not all of them were veterans. One was Leon Malmed. After talking to him, Stillinger learned that Malmed was born in France, and when he was four years old, the French police arrived at his door to take his Jewish parents away. Despite his pleas and cries, his parents were taken to Auschwitz. Malmed was taken in by his Christian neighbors, who promised to care for him and his sister until their parents returned, and remembers his childhood being filled with roundups, bombings and invasions. When his city was liberated by the 28th division of the United States Army, he felt like he was dreaming. Not yet aware of the atrocities committed in concentration camps like Auschwitz, Malmed waited earnestly for his parents to return, but they never did. To him, this trip 80 years later was a chance to see the place where the liberation of his homeland began, and where the
regime that had taken his parents from him finally began to fall.
When asked why he dedicated so much of his time and energy (much of it outside of his normal working hours) to ensuring this trip was as perfect as it could possibly be, Stillinger’s answer was simple. “I was on a mission to honor these heroes, like those whose stories I mentioned, and show my appreciation for them,” he said. “Like any other brother of Pi Kappa Phi, a sense of service and sacrifice is at the heart of everything I do.”
With this sense of service and sacrifice instilled in him through both his military service and Pi Kappa Phi, he makes a point to give back through service with every opportunity he can find. One opportunity he took advantage of is cycling the Journey of Hope, not once, but twice. “I was a cyclist on the Journey of Hope South Route in 1996 and the ‘10th Anniversary Team’ in 1998, which retraced Bruce Rogers’ original route. I consider my role as a cyclist on the Journey of Hope to be one of my greatest accomplishments in life,” said Stillinger. “The Journey of Hope teams are smaller brotherhoods within the larger organization, and the bonds are strong because they’ve endured so much as a team.” While he has found strong bonds and connections with his Journey of Hope teams, as a veteran, he has also found a sense of community with other brothers of Pi Kappa Phi who have served or are currently serving their country.
In part because of these communities of common loyalty he has found in his own life, he works even harder to build a strong sense of community for the veterans and military personnel he supports. By giving his all to planning this trip, Stillinger created a tight-knit group of 68 individuals with shared World War II experiences and enabled them to come together to share in remembrance and reflection, laughter and joy and perhaps most significantly, thanks to their valiant sacrifices and service; freedom.
To learn more about the incredible trip that Stillinger planned and executed, visit aa.com/dday80.
