On the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation and the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazism, official ceremonies were held at the World War II Memorial in the U.S. capital. Participants included ambassadors, diplomats, and military attachés from EU countries and allied nations. Ukraine was represented at the ceremony by Ambassador Oksana Markarova.
This was reported by Oksana Markarova.
According to Oksana Markarova, in her address she emphasized that Ukraine—having suffered terrible losses during World War II under both the Nazi and Soviet regimes—made one of the greatest contributions to the victory over both forms of totalitarianism.
“Since 2014, Ukraine has been fighting for freedom and a just peace against the russian aggressor, whose war crimes echo those of World War II, and we thank all who resolutely support us in the struggle for a free world! We remember those who gave their lives for freedom and are grateful to those who defend us today,” she said.
Each year at the ceremony, American veteran Harry Miller—a participant in World War II who also contributed to the defeat of Nazism—is present. He was only 15 when he joined the U.S. Army Reserve. During the war he served in the 740th Tank Battalion, landing on Utah Beach, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, assaulting the Siegfried Line, and participating in operations in Cologne, the Ruhr, and Düsseldorf. At the end of the war he helped hold the castle on Lake Schwerin.
After World War II, Harry served in Korea and Vietnam, worked in military intelligence, took part in planning B-52 strikes, and prepared for the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1966 he retired with the rank of Senior Master Sergeant (SMSgt E-8), then went on to work as a private detective, a hospital security director, and a safety inspector at the University of Texas.
You can learn more about Harry Miller’s life and military service in the winter 2018 issue of WWII Quarterly, in the here article “Assault Gun Tanker” available in the World War II Memorial Library.
Author: Danylo Pievchev