As a World War II seaman in the Pacific, Matt Gutman ferried troops to island beaches to fight the Japanese. Now he’ll see the beaches where other Americans landed in a momentous bid to end the Nazi grip on Western Europe. Gutman, 99, of Allentown will be among veterans honored at ceremonies in France marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the June 6, 1944, Allied invasion of Normandy that opened a path to victory over Germany.
“This is new for me, I’m going to learn something,” said Gutman, who was a Navy landing craft coxswain and has never been to France. “There will be a lot of history.” He and his son Mike of San Antonio, Florida, an Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War, will fly from Philadelphia to Paris on June 3 for a seven-day visit, courtesy of Forever Young Veterans .
The Tennessee nonprofit, which seeks to bring vets “honor, healing and hope,” will cover their roundtrip airfare, hotel stay, meals, transportation and tours. Seven other World War II veterans, plus a companion for each, will be joining the Gutmans. Among them is a 99-year-old Philadelphian, Jake Ruser, who landed in Normandy eight days after D-Day as a medic with the 4th Infantry Division.
The others, ages 96 to 102, are from New Jersey, Florida, Nevada, Georgia, California and Washington, D.C. All but Gutman fought in the European Theater.
“We decided to bring one Pacific veteran to represent that side of the war,” said Forever Young founder Diane Hight, whose father served in t.