LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring our Nation's D-Day surviving veterans
upon the occasion of the 3rd Annual D-Day Recognition and Remembrance
Event, June 1, 2013

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is moved with great respect and reverent
esteem to pay tribute to the men and women who so courageously and hero-
ically serve and have served in the Armed Forces of the United States;
and
WHEREAS, Members and former members of the Armed Services from the
State of New York, who have served so valiantly and honorably in wars in
which this country's freedom was at stake, as well as in the preserva-
tion of peace in peace-time, deserve a special salute from this Legisla-
tive Body; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor our
Nation's D-Day surviving veterans upon the occasion of the 3rd Annual
D-Day Recognition and Remembrance Event; this auspicious occasion will
be celebrated on Saturday, June 1, 2013, at the Holiday Inn Express in
Latham, New York; and
WHEREAS, At the height of World War II, on June 6, 1944, the military
power of the Armed Forces of the United States and its Allies combined
for the most extensive aerial and sea borne assault ever planned; and
WHEREAS, The D-Day invasion at the beaches of Normandy, France,
changed the direction of World War II, and the history of the twentieth
century; planned for over two years by the Allied Forces, it was an
intricate coordination of the world's greatest military forces, and an
exercise in cooperation that marked the turning point of the war, and
the history of the world; and
WHEREAS, Composed of 156,000 Allied troops from the United States,
United Kingdom, Canada, Free France and Norway, under the command of
United States Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the D-Day invasion
successfully led to the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi
Germany's control; according to some estimates, more than 4,000 Allied
troops lost their lives in the invasion, with thousands more wounded or
missing; and
WHEREAS, There are approximately 1.2 million living World War II
veterans in the United States; more than 12,000 are estimated to reside
in New York State; and
WHEREAS, To honor and remember the veterans of the heroic D-Day inva-
sion, Frank DeSorbo of Delmar, New York, is organizing the 3rd Annual
D-Day Recognition and Remembrance Event, to be held on Saturday, June 1,
2013, at the Holiday Inn Express in Latham, New York; and
WHEREAS, This solemn and auspicious occasion presents a unique oppor-
tunity for this Legislative Body to remember, honor and pay tribute to
men and women of the "Greatest Generation" who so courageously and hero-
ically served in the Armed Forces of the United States during the D-Day
invasion on June 6, 1944; and
WHEREAS, Our Nation's veterans deserve to be recognized, commended and
thanked by the people of the State of New York for their service and for
their dedication to their communities, their State and their Nation;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor our Nation's D-Day surviving veterans upon the occasion of the 3rd
Annual D-Day Recognition and Remembrance Event; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Frank DeSorbo.