A 94-year-old Coast Guard veteran of the D-Day landing in Normandy spoke to cadets at the Coast Guard Academy in New London about his fallen comrades, and how he honors their sacrifice.
Frank DeVita says although the invasion was 75 years ago, he still returns to the American Cemetery in Normandy to remember them.
“I go there every time I go back to Normandy, and I cry. Because they were kids. They’re never going to see their little children graduate school. They’re never going to walk their daughter down the aisle. They’re never going to hold that first baby in their arms. I had that, and I was very fortunate. I have to represent them.”
Admiral Karl Schultz is the 26th Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
“I met Frank in Normandy. Frank had been back with his family a number of times. He actually was back with 75 members of the DeVita family for the 75th anniversary of Normandy. Frank is a remarkable American. One of the Greatest Generation that survived the biggest amphibious assault in the history of man.”
DeVita was just 19-years-old when he joined the war effort to defeat Germany.