Operation Thank You: D-Day 65th Anniversary

June 6, 2009 marks the 65th Anniversary of D-Day, the largest land, air, and sea operation in history and a day that changed the course of history. Of the 150,000 Allied servicemen and women who participated in the invasion, only a handful still remain. The younger D-Day veterans will turn 82 years of age this year; by the 70th anniversary in 2014, they will be all but gone.

The opportunity to thank these men and women for their service while they still walk among us, while they can experience our thanks and appreciate it, will soon be lost. The time to act is NOW.
Operation “THANK YOU” is one way educators can get their students involved in the observance of the D-Day anniversary. The purpose of Operation THANK YOU is to have students offer messages of thanks to our WWII and D-Day veterans in highly visual formats. Educators are invited to have their students spell out “THANK YOU” as creatively as possible and submit a photograph of their results. The key is creativity – use the student body to spell out “THANK YOU” in giant letters on the football field, or spell it out with a collage of images from WWII. Get creative and say thanks!

A panel of judges will select the most creative “THANK YOU” image, which will then be used on the cover of the commemorative program for the 65th Anniversary of D-Day at the National D-Day Memorial in June 2009. Superior entries will be featured in local media to help promote the 65th Anniversary of D-Day at the National D-Day Memorial next year.

RULES: Entries must be received by April 15, 2009 to be considered. Send your submission to:

National D-Day Memorial Foundation
Attn: Operation THANK YOU
PO Box 77
Bedford, VA 24523
or submit via email at “dday @ dday.org” (remove quotes and spaces).

Be sure to include your name, school, mailing address, phone number, and email address. Students in grades K-12 in public and private schools are eligible to participate. Submissions must be in the form of color photographs or digital images – no original artwork or videos will be accepted. Students may submit work individually or in groups, but no more than one entry per person will be accepted. All submissions become property of the National D-Day Memorial Foundation. The Foundation is not responsible for lost or damaged submissions. For more information, contact the Education Department at 540-586-3329.

NOTE: The Liberty University History Department and the National D-Day Memorial Foundation will present a two-day conference prior to the actual event at Beford with authors, Dr. Gerhard Weinberg, author of A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II, New Edition, and Alex Kershaw, author of The Bedford Boys: One American Town’s Ultimate D-day Sacrifice. Learn more at Appomattox History.