Denver charity returns Normandy survivor to France for D-Day anniversary
NEW YORK (KDVR) — Some 80 years after he first shoved off for Europe, Steven Melnikoff, 104, is headed back to the battlefield.
“Yes, I’m ready! Eightieth anniversary. World War II. D-Day. I don’t know, this might be the last one guys, so you got to really appreciate this,” Melnikoff told a crowd of veterans gathered Thursday at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.
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Melnikoff and several other World War II veterans boarded the Queen Mary 2 for a transatlantic voyage that will land them in England one week from now. Then they’re off to Normandy, France, for the D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations on June 6.
The veterans were given a sendoff by French school students who serenaded the World War II heroes with a rendition of “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem, and “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
‘When you retire from your work, you can’t retire from life’
Many in the crowd peppered Melnikoff with questions about his service 80 years ago, when as part of the Army’s 29th Division, he came ashore one day after D-Day and fought his way through Normandy.
He was injured days into the campaign when he took machine gun fire near a hedge row. Shot in the neck, he was taken to an aid station but soon returned to the fight. He served all the way to the end of the war, when he and his fellow soldiers crossed the Elbe River into Germany.
The students had one other question: How do you live to be 104 years old?
“Well, I’ll tell you this: I have a positive attitude, I love life. I like to dance, I have fun, I’m active. And the one thing I tell people: When you retire from your work, you can’t retire from life,” Melnikoff said.
Why take an ocean liner? It’s actually the very mode of transportation many World War II veterans took to Europe the first time: luxury liners, converted to troop transport ships, with thousands of soldiers crammed aboard.
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The once-in-a-lifetime trip is sponsored by a charity started in Denver called The Greatest Generations Foundation. For 20 years, volunteers have been returning World War II and Vietnam veterans to the battlefields where they served.
“And what we do is we honor the service of all generations in our military. And this particular program we’re on is going to honor people who served in World War II, particularly in the D-Day invasion,” said James Hackett, a volunteer with the charity.
Colorado woman, 101, travels overseas for the first time
Among the veterans on the program is Marie West, 101, of Monument, Colorado. She joined the Navy WAVES, or Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services, during World War II. West was one of more than 350,000 women who volunteered for the armed forces during the war. Most of them were assigned stateside, so this will be her first time overseas.
“It’s a blessing,” West said.
The veterans will attend daily question and answer sessions aboard the ship, and once in England and France, they’ll attend services and ceremonies honoring those who never made it home from Normandy.
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