BEDFORD, Va. – Final preparations are underway for the 75th D-Day anniversary ceremony Thursday in Bedford.
The ceremony at the National D-Day Memorial is expected to bring in tens of thousands of people.
Volunteers have been working for days to get everything set up and ready to go. This process includes lining up all the chairs, putting up tents and much more.
They’re expecting 15,000 to 20,000 people for the ceremony, but the most special guests of all will be the World War II veterans in attendance.
Along with Vice President Mike Pence and many other special guests speaking, there will also be an aerial tribute to World War II veterans.
The pilots taking part in the tribute are feeling a little bit of pressure, but more than anything, pride.
"Just to honor 75 years ago what these men went through, the sacrifice these men did and be able to fly over this monument on that given time, I mean, the timing is impeccable. It's the time that's when they went on the beach. You'll see it. Each aircraft has a certain time to fly over so we just hope we don't mess it up," said one of the pilots, Chuck Tippett.
Many are visiting the memorial Wednesday to avoid Thursday's crowds.