NORMANDY, FRANCE — June 6 marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of Allied forces onto the beaches of Normandy in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.

U.S. Army Spc. Kenny Day, a Holland native and Grundy Center High School graduate, was among a contingent of active service members that attended ceremonies and events in France throughout the week. It’s an experience that Day said has provided him with an important perspective on his own military service.

“When you’re standing on those beaches, you realize you’re standing in a spot that had such a giant significance in American history and world history,” Day said. “And I’m a kid from Iowa that got to stand on a stage with the President and 195 World War II veterans that fought the war, and even some who stormed the beaches of Normandy and lived to tell about it.”

Day was joined in France by his fellow soldiers in the 21st MP Company, which is part of the 503rd MP Battalion and 16th MP Brigade, along with service members from all the other military branches.

Of the thousands of military members in attendance throughout the week, Day was one of 41 selected to escort one of the WWII vets on a walk of honor and seat them at Thursday’s ceremony at Colleville-Sur-Mer, France, that featured speeches from President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Day also was able to meet with almost all the other WWII veterans in attendance, recalling one interaction in particular with Irving Locker, a 99-year old who, at 5’1″, was more than a foot shorter than Day but had a larger-than-life attitude toward his service.

“He told me, ‘You want to know how I survived the war? I hid behind the tall guys,'” Day recalled with a laugh.

As part of his stay in France, Day will also participate in a commemorative parachute drop that follows the same flight path flown on D-Day, set for landing in the Iron Mike Drop Zone in Sainte-Mère-Église, France. He’s also immersed himself in the history and the scars that still remain today in the area from the intense battles that accompanied the Normandy invasion.

“This is one of those things that just reignites my enjoyment and love for the military,” Day said. “It’s a big commitment to join the military, and I think people will always have regrets about joining. … But moments like this happen and you realize that you’re doing what you’re doing for a purpose.”

It’s a duty that runs through Day’s entire family. His brothers, Nick and Marshall, have or are actively serving, and Kenny grew up learning about military service from his father, Mark. The history of military service spans back several generations, and includes great-great-grandfathers that even served for the British Army.

“It was never pushed toward him,” Mark said. “But I think he knew from day one it’s what he wanted to do.”

But it wasn’t his initial path out of high school. The Grundy Center graduate, who medaled at the state cross country meet in his senior season, joined the cross country team at Central College.

After a semester, he realized it wasn’t the right fit for him.

“It’s nothing against Central — I had a great time there, made friends and memories,” Kenny said. “I just wanted to take that step to test myself. The Army’s the best way to find out your strengths, and I wanted to take that opportunity to find out what I could really become.”

Kenny attended one station unit training (OSUT) in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. for military police, and then went to airborne school which led Kenny to Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) in North Carolina, where he’s since attended air assault school and will soon attend a private security detachment (PSD) school.

Mark half-joked that Kenny is a “way better soldier than I ever was” – in less than three years, Day has been promoted to specialist and has used his endurance training from high school to complete challenges like the “Norwegian Ruck March,” an 18 ½-mile hike in full uniform and rucksack that Kenny successfully completed in under four hours and 30 minutes.

“Being in the military has done so much for my life and career,” Kenny said. “When I become a leader, I want to push to my soldiers how they always need to strive for better opportunities — there’s so many opportunities in the military that you can take advantage of.”