June 2, 2009
**For Immediate Release”
Sixty-five years after the D-Day invasion of France on June 6, 1944, the event will be remembered with displays and battle re-enactments at the Museum of the Kansas National Guard, Forbes Field, Topeka.
Displays will be in place by 9 a.m., with battle re-enactments featuring American and German troops at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The displays will include a variety of World War II-era vehicles, weapons and uniforms, as well as a complete field hospital.
At 1 p.m. in the Museum Theater a panel of World War II veterans will discuss events of 65 years ago. Included will be veterans of the 635th Tank Destroyer Battalion and the 35th Infantry Division. The 635th landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, and the 35th Division landed in Normandy on July 5-7, 1944. Both fought their way across Europe during the war, and both were units of the Kansas National Guard.
All of the Museum’s 80 inside exhibits and 25 outside exhibits will also be available for viewing. Concessions will be available in the Museum.
All events and admission to the Museum are free and open to the public. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is one of the stops on the current Visit Topeka Treasure Hunt, which runs until July 15.
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