WASHINGTON — Texans everywhere are commemorating eight decades since D-Day, when Allied forces invaded Nazi-occupied France. Some have traveled far from home for their remembrances.

What You Need To Know

  • Some Texans have traveled far from home to commemorate eight decades since D-Day, when Allied forced invaded Nazi-occupied France and marked a major turning point in World War II

  • Texans Bailey Cameron and her mother Marcy Chenault visited the national World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. because Cameron's great-grandfather served in the war

  • Another Texan, Toby Roosevelt, a descendant of Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt, said the day not only honors the greatest generation but also educates the next generation

Most days, it is hard to ignore the trickles of the fountain at the national World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. But if you listen a little closer, you can hear their names. 

Bailey Cameron and her mother Marcy Chenault were among those who read the names of those who sacrificed their lives in World War II. Cameron told Spectrum News as she was going down the list of names, she was thinking about their families and how they must have felt. 

“It's sad. I like that they are doing this, though, to kind of give the remembrance for these people. They’re acknowledged,” Cameron, a Wichita Falls resident, said.  

For them, it is personal. Cameron’s great-grandfather served in the war. 

“It's amazing that they were willing to give the ultimate sacrifice for people they didn't know and would never meet, for us to be able to live free and be able to come and see this,” she said.  

They belong to a family of veterans and traveled from Texas to the nation's capital, and the World War II Memorial was on their must-see list. It just so happened to be 80 years since the D-Day invasion, a turning point in the war. 

In the middle of the plaza surrounded by the pillars and the wreaths, another Texan, Toby Roosevelt, said the day not only honors the greatest generation but also educates the next generation. Roosevelt is a descendant of Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt and a board member of the Friends of the National World War II Memorial. 

“The outcome of World War II was not guaranteed,” Roosevelt told Spectrum News. “World War II was basically a testing ground as to whether the values that this country was founded upon were going to last, and this country is a delicate experiment.” 

Across the Atlantic, members of Congress from Texas were in Normandy to commemorate the day. That included Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin; Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth; and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. They met with World War II veterans and expressed their gratitude. Lawmakers who served in the armed forces such as Rep. Keith Self, R-McKinney, prepared to parachute over France as part of their remembrance. 

Back in Washington, D.C., it was Cameron and Chenault's first time visiting the memorial. They said they will leave with a renewed appreciation for the lives they enjoy now. 

“It's our freedom. It's our freedom to be where we want to be. It's our freedom to let us be in Texas,” Chenault, a Midland resident, said.