BEDFORD, Va. – Far away from the D-Day Memorial was a small group of spectators.
Paul Roderiqe lives in town and didn't want to fight the crowd of 20,000 at the 75th-anniversary ceremony for D-Day.
"In the distance there you have the top of the memorial that's visible. We thought there might not be a lot of people out, which you know is great. We have a place we can sit, watch and enjoy the show," Roderiqe said.
He and others had the same idea to come to the Old Bedford Middle School and catch the warplanes fly overhead.
"The sound of the engines it's every WWII movie I've ever seen. That sound in the aircraft engines. It reminds you of everything that took place," Roderiqe said.
To help him capture the unique planes was his 9-year-old niece Kathleen Ward.
"It's definitely a cool feeling when you're taking pictures planes that are super old that you sort of get a feel of what they felt back then," Ward said.
But its a feeling that Roderiqe and his niece say they are thankful they can experience in the present.
"I think we all want to give our thanks to every one of those men and their families, and to those that are still alive, (that) landed not knowing they'd still be here today," Roderiqe said.