On June 6, 1944 160,000 troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France.

Two of those troops were US Army Private Guy Jellison and US Army Private First Class Jim Hogue.

"We didn't know when we got off that boat what we were going to encounter," recalled Jellison.

Hogue was 19 years old during D-Day, but remembers it like it was yesterday. "They started shelling the beaches," he said. "You could hear the shells going over head, whistling."

65 years after that massive invasion, the two veterans came together with others who served during World War II for a special reunion meant to remember D-Day.

"I'm happy to be here with the fellas I served with," said Jellison.

Hogue adds, "We swap stories and tell lies it's just a bit of happiness, but we do touch on the sadness."

To say that emotions ran high at the reunion would be an understatement.

"The relationships you developed while in the service stay with you forever," explained Jellison. "They're just something special."

While the reunion was about honoring the past attention was also given to the present conflict.

"War's hell," Hogue simply said. "I don't care if its WWII or today's fight, my hat goes off to them and my heart goes out to them."

One person who certainly appreciated those words was Army Chaplain Marc Unger. He lost his 19 year old son, Daniel Paul Unger, in Iraq on May 25, 2004.

"It never gets old, it's always fresh," Chaplain Unger said of the pain he feels when he thinks of his son. "It's the cost of freedom."

So whether it's in the deserts of the Middle East or the beaches of Normandy, these veterans are honored to be part of history.

"We were very proud to have been involved with the invasion with the war," said Jellison.

Hogue adds, "It's one of those great things in my life that I wouldn't want to miss but wouldn't want to do again."

When D-Day was done, 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded, but more than 100,000 soldiers continued on and marched across Europe and later defeated the Nazis.