June 6th, 1944: More than 150,000 Allied troops land on the beaches of Normandy, France, as part of the largest seaborne invasion in history. Known as "D-Day," the name and date loom large in the memory of the war—perhaps second only to December 7th, 1941. These two dates stand on opposite ends of American involvement in World War II, and their meaning could not be more different. D-Day put the Allies on a decisive path toward victory. Beginning with the Normandy beaches, they pushed back against Axis forces until Germany was forced to surrender less than a year later. Their achievements were not accomplished without tremendous sacrifice, however, as the Normandy invasion resulted in over 6,000 American casualties.

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-Day, VHP presents a handful of collections of American servicemen and women who took part in the invasion. These stories represent the wide variety of individuals without whom D-Day would not have been a success: soldiers and sailors, doctors and nurses, enlisted men and officers, engineers and beachmasters, seasoned veterans and those who had never before been in combat. Here, in their own words, they describe D-Day—and what came after.

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