World War II veterans mark V-E Day with the Trumps at memorial in D.C.
WASHINGTON — They stormed French beaches on D-Day, helped liberate a concentration camp and fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
Hence, seven elderly World War II veterans weren’t about to let the coronavirus pandemic keep them from marking the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe.
Ranging in age from 96 to 100, the veterans held their salute as President Donald Trump joined them in a commemoration at the World War II Memorial on a blustery Friday morning.
Steven Melnikoff, now 100, was an infantryman whose Army unit was responsible for capturing more than 10,000 German soldiers.
“It was a tough battle,” Melnikoff, who lives near Baltimore, said by phone after Friday’s ceremony.
Speaking of his unit, he said: “I was with them constantly for 11 months, except the weeks and months that I spent in the hospital.”
He’d been shot in the neck.
Melnikoff said he wasn’t worried about traveling from Maryland during the pandemic to pay his respects to all who were lost in the war.
“We used proper protection,” he said.
Trump kept his distance as he walked by the veterans, including one in a wheelchair, who had lined up to greet him. Melnikoff said he previously had met Trump at the White House.
“I just said, ‘Nice to see you again, Mr. President,’ and he acknowledged that,” Melnikoff said.
The president and first lady Melania Trump participated in a wreath-laying ceremony and toured the memorial.
Trump said the commemoration was “windy and beautiful.”
White House officials had described the veterans as “choosing nation over self” by deciding to join Trump at the ceremony.
“These heroes are living testaments to the American spirit of perseverance and victory, especially in the midst of dark days,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said.
Other veterans joining Trump were Gregory Melikian, 97, of Phoenix, who sent the coded message to the world that the Germans had unconditionally surrendered.
Donald Halverson, 97, of Minnesota, saw some of the war’s fiercest fighting in Italy. John Coates, 96, of Maryland, fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Jack Myers, 97, of Hagerstown, Md., was part of a unit that liberated the Dachau concentration camp.
Melnikoff; Guy Whidden, 97, of Braddock Heights, Md.; and Harold Angle, 97, of Chambersburg, Pa., participated in the D-Day invasion that turned the tide in the war.
“My mission now that I’m 100 years old is to make sure many young people know the story of what happened 75 years ago,” he said. “I want the people to remember so this would never happen again.”