D-day

The naval island is where the Navy developed the Higgins boat — the pivotal landing craft that ferried troops to the beaches of Normandy during the D-day invasion.

First came France’s D-day beaches, then the heart of the once-divided German capital.

The beginning of the end of World War II occurred 80 years ago Thursday, when roughly 160,000 Allied troops made landfall in Normandy on D-day.

But it was a dark day for the families of 2,501 Americans who were killed and 5,000 wounded on D-day alone.

Alfie Booker still remembers the noises, smells and smoke from D-day.