Veterans recall D-Day, 68 years later

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WASHINGTON, June 6 (UPI) -- Veterans recalled D-Day Wednesday -- 68 years after 160,000 Allied troops stormed the beach at Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944.

Richard Main, 90, of Carroll, Iowa, said the invasion taught him war should always be "the last answer," USA Today reported.

While visiting the National World War II Memorial in Washington, Main said, "I made a lot of good friends and lost a lot of good buddies."

On D-Day, 9,000 troops were killed or wounded.

Main traveled with fellow veterans from Iowa to the national memorial on a trip organized by Eastern Iowa Honor Flight, a non-profit organization that helps veterans travel to memorials.

Veteran Robert Schurk, 87, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, said he views D-Day as a lesson in the "inhumanities of war."

After Allied forces liberated France, Schurk was part of a team that repaired the damage.

Then-Gen. Dwight Eisenhower said he would accept "nothing less than full victory" in the invasion.

After the D-Day invasion, Allied soldiers began moving across Europe to defeat Hitler.