(NewsNation) — This year will be the biggest D-Day commemoration in history as the last surviving American World War II veterans head back to the beaches of Normandy to remember those who gave their lives.
One of those veterans in 99-year-old Alan Kinder. He fought his way across Europe through the Battle of the Bulge and joined “Morning in America” from Normandy, France, on his first trip back since he was there as a young corporal 80 years ago.
“It’s a beautiful place now,” Kinder said. “We didn’t have time to look at it before, but I’m very pleased and proud of the way they’ve kept this place up. The whole trip in France so far has been a revelation because the first time we didn’t get to talk to people very much.”
Kinder says optimism carried him through during his first time in Normandy.
“Optimism and the fact that it didn’t matter if you were optimistic or pessimistic, you had to do what had to be done — there’s just no question about that,” Kinder said.
He’s felt that optimism again upon his return. Returning has had a “cheering up effect” by being surrounded by “amazing” people, but Kinder senses less of that togetherness generally today, he said.
“We all worked together in those days,” Kinder said. “Maybe it’s because we’re drawn together because of the war, but the attitude was so much more pleasant. It’s worrying now.”
The welcome he and fellow veterans received in Normandy, however, has made it “all worthwhile.”
“I’m even thinking of reenlisting,” Kinder joked.