American veterans leave to be celebrated in France as part of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings

ATLANTA (AP) — Hilbert Margol said he didn’t consider himself a hero when his U.S. Army artillery unit was fighting its way through Europe during World War II. But he will be celebrated in France as one of 60 American veterans of that conflict traveling to Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of the Landing.

“I know my brother and I never thought of him as some kind of hero, nothing like that,” Margol said recently of himself and his twin brother Howard, who served with him. “It was just our moment. That we were asked to serve. And we did it.

Margol, 100, who lives in suburban Atlanta, is among a dwindling group of conflict veterans who left Atlanta on Sunday on a chartered flight to Deauville, Normandy. Veterans will participate in parades, school visits and ceremonies, including the official commemoration of the landing on June 6 by soldiers from the United States, Britain, Canada and other allied countries on five beaches.

Margol did not disembark on D-Day, but the Jacksonville, Fla., native was among those who liberated the Dachau concentration camp on April 29, 1945.

The trip also includes selected high school and college students to accompany veterans and learn about their experiences. Charter flights also took veterans from Atlanta to France in 2022 and 2023.

On Sunday, the group of 60 veterans, dressed in personalized jackets to commemorate the anniversary, arrived at the Atlanta airport to applause and cheers from the flight crew and the marching band from Dutchtown High School in Hampton, in Georgia. The veterans were then guided through the airport to their terminal in a parade led by the marching band.

World War II Veteran Jake Larsona 101-year-old American better known on social media as “Papa Jake,” said he joined the National Guard at age 15 for the money and ended up in Omaha Beach on the big day. Looking back on his three years in Europe, Larson said he was “not a hero.”

“I’m just a survivor, but I’m here to honor these people who gave their lives so I could be here,” Larson said Sunday before the flight.

He also had a message to world leaders: “Make peace, not war.”

Andy Negra from Helen, Georgia, landed with the 6th Armored Division at Utah Beach on July 18, 1944, about six weeks after D-Day. This is his second trip back to France after also participating in last year’s flight .

“Well, to me, we fought for freedom, for peace and for a better life,” Negra, a native of Avella, Pennsylvania, said in a recent interview.

The trip is organized by Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, the Best Defense Foundation and the North American arm of French tire maker Michelin.

“It is our privilege to celebrate and honor these heroes by sending them directly to Normandy and recognizing their incredible sacrifices and contributions to the world,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement.