Mayor Linda Gorton, U.S. Rep. Andy Barr and University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto will be among the speakers at a program Thursday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
“I would like to invite everyone to come downtown to our historic Kentucky Theatre to help us mark this special anniversary of a remarkable day in our history,” Gorton said.
The program, which is free and open to the public, begins at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 6, at the Kentucky Theatre, 214 E. Main St. Doors open at 4:30 p.m.
The City is partnering with the Kentucky Theatre, Kentucky Educational Television, The Nunn Center, the Lexington Public Library Kentucky Room, Lexington History Museum, Lexington Sister Cities and Full Field Agency for a special program.
Through its Sister City, Deauville, France, Lexington has a continuing relationship with Normandy. Deauville is located near the Normandy beaches where American forces landed in World War II. In 1957, Lexington and Deauville were among the first two cities around the world to become Sister Cities.
“We have enjoyed a long, mutually beneficial relationship and built a strong bond,” Gorton said. “The people of Deauville, working with our Sister Cities Executive Director Kay Sargent, have helped us put together this program tonight to again demonstrate the reverence they have for the Americans who died on the Normandy beaches.”
In addition to honoring the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the ceremony will offer a remembrance of the eight fallen soldiers with connections to Lexington who are buried in the Normandy American Cemetery. Young people who are part of the Lexington-Deauville exchange program will introduce the fallen soldiers. Their families will receive proclamations in memoriam from the Mayor.
Capilouto will speak and introduce audio footage of interviews with some of Lexington’s D-Day veterans, provided by the Nunn Center, and KET will present the documentary “In Their Own Words”.
Produced in 2007 by KET’s Tom Bickel and narrated by Kentuckian Nick Clooney, Kentucky WWII Veterans: In Their Own Words features Kentucky veterans recounting their combat experiences and sharing their personal stories.
The evening will conclude with a reception.
