Medal of Honor recipient, Walter Ehlers, told the thousands of people in the arena about a scene that met him when he landed as a young staff sergeant with the Army's 1st Infantry Division as part of the first wave of soldiers to hit the Normandy beaches.

"There was chaos", he said. "It was awful, the most devastating fight I have ever seen. We weren't prepared to see the devastation that we saw there".

Ehlers survived the landing, but his brother was killed during the second wave of the Allied invasion. Ehlers told the crows that the parade was "one of the greatest things" . To see so many people paying tribute to the military on the streets of New Orleans - it was fantastic".

Memories of those that died - over 400,00 Americans alone - weighed heavily on many who came to participate. "This is a memorial for those who died, not for me or for anyone who's living", said John McMahon of Algiers, a WWII veteran who entered Europe a month after D-Day.

Filmmaker, Steven Spielberg, whose movie "Saving Private Ryan" put D-Day in the public's eye and gave the museum a fundraising boost told the crowd that "we will never allow future generations to forget what you did to preserve our democracy. We must celebrate you not just on every June 6. We must celebrate you everyday".

Mary Ellen LeBlanc proudly waves the New Orleans
States that she and her family have kept since it was
published 55 years ago.