Longhorn Alumni Band Performs in 75th D-Day Celebration in Normandy
- Jun 6, 2019
As dawn broke on June 6, 1944, the Allied Forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France. It was an event that turned the tide of World War II and marked the beginning of the defeat of Nazi tyranny throughout Europe.
Headlining this year’s 75th anniversary celebrations of D-Day is The University of Texas at Austin Longhorn Alumni Band (LHAB).
They will be performing at two official ceremonies at the American cemeteries in the Normandy region, the Brittany American Cemetery and the Normandy American Cemetery. Resting at these locations are nearly 15,000 U.S. soldiers. The band will also perform in the Liberation of France Parade in Sainte-Mère-Église, the first city liberated by the Allied forces, and it will perform in Paris near the Eiffel Tower on the final day of the trip.
The members of the LHAB are thrilled to honor the event with a Texas-size tribute. The group arrived in France this week with more than 300 performers and accompanied by 235 family members and guest travelers. Their performance will be more than twice the size of any musical performance at the event previously.
“I am grateful that so many dedicated members of the Longhorn family could pay their respects to the heroes of WWII on our behalf,” says UT President Greg Fenves. “My dad’s 13th birthday was on D-Day. He and his family were in Nazi-occupied Hungary. If it weren’t for the bravery of the Allied forces on that day and beyond, he would have never survived Auschwitz and Buchenwald. The Longhorn Alumni Band will honor the lives of those who sacrificed everything so that families like mine could be free.”
Read the full article on UT News.
