Photos Commemorating the End of World War II
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Parade of war vehicles: A line of World War II antique vehicles travel down Helderberg Trail on Saturday morning to Berne Town Park to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. The Hudson Mohawk Chapter of the NY-Penn Historic Military Vehicle Club hosted the event. After the ceremony, the club will broadcast Norman Corwin’s “Fourteen August.” Written by Norman Corwin and read by Charles Kuralt and Pat Carroll, the tribute was created to commemorate Victory in Japan Day and the end of the war.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Saluting the Greatest Generation: A line of American Legion Riders and Patriot Guard Riders hold their flags as trucks and World War II veterans enter the park for the ceremony.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Michelle McCooey, left, along with Jim Mudge and Steve Garry wearing World War II-era military fatigues, salute while the national anthem plays over the loudspeakers from a World War II truck.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
American heroes:
World War II veterans Ken Bailey, left, Mike Willsey, and Milton Hart sit under umbrellas, as temperatures were getting hotter Saturday, in a ceremony where they were honored in Berne’s town park.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Eva DeBoer, right, hands a victory rose with a forget-me-not to Milton Hart. All three World War II veterans at Saturday’s ceremony — Hart, Ken Bailey, and Mike Willsey — received flowers.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Pastor Rhonda Cooper stands behind World War II veteran Mike Wilsey on Saturday morning as she reads a prayer given by General Dwight D. Eisenhower to troops heading for the front lines: “Permit none of us to fail a comrade in the fight ….”
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Remembering all: Ken Bailey, left, helps set a wreath by the World War II memorial at Berne Town Park in Berne.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Solemn moment: A Patriot Guard rider blows the bugle to play taps to honor those who died in World War II. An estimated 70 to 85 million people perished during the war. The United States joined the conflict in 1941 and at war’s end over 16 million U.S. citizen soldiers served in the conflict; over 400,000 died and over and 670,000 were wounded in the conflict.