The City of Alexandria is planning two special events this June to mark 81 years since D-Day.
On June 1, 2025, the Alexandria-Caen Sister City Committee will host its 15th Annual D-Day Commemoration at Market Square. This free event promises World War II reenactors, historical exhibits, and live jazz. The U.S. Army Fife and Drum Corps will perform, and a French market and activities for kids will also be available. Local officials and special guests will take part in a commemorative ceremony.
Join the Alexandria-Caen Sister City Committee for a free commemorative event featuring World War II reenactors with displays, a 1940’s jazz band, swing dancing, the U.S. Army Fife and Drum Corps, children’s activities, and a commemorative ceremony featuring special guests and local elected officials.
Military historian Dr. Kim Holien is set to give a talk on “Eisenhower’s Top Secrets from D-Day to V-E Day” at the Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum on June 5, 2025.
For the Alexandria-Caen Sister City Committee’s annual D-Day lecture, Dr. Kim Holien presents, “Eisenhower’s Hidden To(p) Secret from D-Day to V-E Day,” offering insights into the strategic, historical, and human dimensions of D-Day. Operation Fortitude, Patton’s Ghost Army, and Operation Paperclip are all well known ‘Intelligence’ operations before, during and after the war in Europe. But have you ever heard of ‘T Force’ and how it operated in the shadows under the personal direction of Ike from D-Day in Normandy until it ended up on V-E Day at Hitler’s Eagle(‘s) Nest with the famous Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division as seen in the Band of Brothers TV miniseries. Dr. Holien’s Father, LTC Holien, was a career Army Medical Officer attached in an ad hoc medical unit assigned to Easy Company at Hitler’s Eagle Nest in May of 1945. He later served on President Eisenhower’s White House Medical Staff from 1953-57. Come and hear about the Last Great Secret of the War in Europe and how much of it remains secret even today.
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased through the city’s website.
The Alexandria-Caen Sister City Committee, established in 1990, works to promote cultural and educational exchanges between Alexandria and Caen, France.
For more details on these events and Alexandria’s historical programs, check out alexandriava.gov/Historic.
