The Greatest Generation

Men Who Fought In World War Ii As Teenagers Returned To The Same Beach As Brave Heroes 75 Years Later, Thanks To The Greatest Generations Foundation And Cunard Line.

- Marcia Raffel Levin

SINGERS, DANCERS, COMICS, AND musicians of all stripes have taken to Queen Mary 2’s elegant Royal Court Theater stage over the years. On this sailing, it was the setting for brave 90-somethings to share memories of the major contributions they made to winning World War II. Some remained silent about their horrific experiences for decades, yet each has maintained a strong sense of dignity and a wry sense of humor.

More than 75 years after arriving in France as very young men at Normandy‘s scenic beaches — accompanied by unrelenting Nazi gunfire that would kill thousands of their buddies during the next few days — 16 of these brave men sailed late last spring aboard Cunard Line’s QM2. It was a well attended daily event featured on the front page of Cunard Line’s Daily Programme each day of the crossing from Red Hook in Brooklyn to Southampton, England … and the audience grew larger each morning.

The men were accompanied by “ambassadors” — Vietnam vets who assist the older men and know too well the language of war — en route to Normandy to help commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day. And it’s not the first time Cunard has brought military to Europe. Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth served as troopships carrying 1.5 million servicemen across the Atlantic during World War II, and in the last three years Cunard has carried more than 40 men to revisit their battlefields.