The Brief
- Atlanta travelers and strangers paused to honor 27 World War II veterans flying from the world’s busiest airport.
- Gainesville resident Alan Kinder, 101, joined the journey to Normandy to honor fallen comrades.
- Delta Air Lines and the Best Defense Foundation partnered to fly the surviving veterans back to France.
ATLANTA – A group of 27 aging World War II veterans traveled through Atlanta this week, boarding a direct flight to France to mark the 82nd anniversary of D-Day. The journey, organized to honor those who never returned, brought the former service members back to the historic beaches they helped liberate more than eight decades ago.
What we know:
A crowd filled the airport terminal as the Dutchtown High School Marching Band played for the veterans. Strangers stopped to applaud and thank the 27 men being wheeled toward their gate. Among them was 101-year-old Gainesville resident Alan Kinder, a retired U.S. Army corporal who served in Gen. George Patton’s Third Army.…