WEST PALM BEACH — American flags were draped over shoulders, “USA” chants filled the air and “God Bless America” rang through bagpipes. Two World War II veterans were home from Normandy — again.

Sydney Edson of Lake Worth Beach and Ray Glansberg of Port St. Lucie arrived at Palm Beach International Airport around 3 p.m. Saturday, almost exactly eight decades after the D-Day invasion of June 1944 in which both served. They’d been in Normandy, France, on an Honor Flight for the 80th anniversary of the invasion that led to the end of World War II.

Typically, Honor Flights take World War II, Korean and Vietnam War veterans to Washington, D.C., for a day of remembrance and gratitude. They are funded by the Honor Flight Network, a national nonprofit.

Saturday’s flight was coming home from a bit farther away. Part of a gift courtesy of American Airlines’ Old Glory Honor Flight, the trip had taken a total of 68 World War II veterans to Omaha Beach to mark the D-Day anniversary.

Aside from Edson and Glansberg, the initial flight there included six Medal of Honor winners from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam, and two “Rosie the Riveters,” women who worked in U.S. manufacturing facilities and shipyards. Veterans from across the country, ranging from 98 to 107 years old, were selected for the flight.

“I came on the trip only for one reason,” Edson said Saturday, minutes after his arrival. “To pay my respects to the guy that really had it tough and did the job. Once they secured the beach at a tremendous cost, the war was won and the Germans knew it.”

France at the time was under Nazi occupation. Edson, now 100, was a welder in Brooklyn before being drafted into the Army Air Forces in 1943. He worked as a radio operator and a gunner in a B-24 Liberator as part of Bomb Squadron 491.

He said that he did not remember much about the flight to France on D-Day because he’d been so focused on performing his duties. His job was to assist the soldiers invading the beaches. But he also doubled as a gunner and had to be prepared to operate the plane’s machine guns, if the need arose.

“I can’t explain it,” Edson said of about 200 people gathered to welcome him home on Saturday at the airport. “It’s just wonderful.”

Glansberg, at 102, is also a centenarian.

The pair weren’t just awaited by people grateful for their service. Other World War II veterans sat in the crowd, the youngest of them 99. “We love our greatest generation,” a sign being held above them read.

“We treat them like rock stars,” said Christine Brady of Southeast Florida Honor Flight, one of many nonprofits under the National Honor Flight Network. “We give them the welcome home that most never received.”

Marty Marsh would agree.

Marsh, 78, of Stuart, went on an Honor Flight himself in November 2021 for his service in Vietnam.

“It’s quite an emotional experience, especially for Vietnam vets like myself,” he said. “When we came home, we didn’t get a very good welcome. We were called names and spit on, so, for Vietnam vets, especially, it’s kind of a day of closure. It ends a long chapter in their life, and it’s just an incredible day.”

Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at jfernandez@pbpost.com and follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @jasminefernandz. Help support our work. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: World War II veterans return from D-Day ceremony in France