• Some four dozen World War II veterans recently returned to Normandy, France, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, on a special flight courtesy of Delta
• The veterans visited Normandy American Cemetery this week to pay tribute to the fallen
• “We lost half of our planes and half of our pilots that day,” 100-year-old Harold Terens tells PEOPLE. “It was one of the saddest days in my first 20 years of life”

Thursday marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day — the moment that turned the tide of World War II — and to commemorate, a group of American veterans is gathering in France for what organizers say is an especially poignant milestone.

Through the combined efforts of Delta Air Lines, Best Defense Foundation, Michelin North America and Boeing, approximately four dozen veterans were flown on Sunday, June 2, to Deauville, Normandy, from Atlanta to mark the anniversary of the historic Allied invasion.

It marks the third consecutive time Delta has brought American veterans to France for D-Day celebrations. At the same time, their numbers have dwindled with age and illness.

“As time passes quickly for our WWII generation, it is our duty and honor to provide this opportunity of closure and camaraderie for those who gave so much,” Donnie Edwards, president of the non-profit Best Defense Foundation, said in a statement. 

“The idea came that maybe flying directly to Normandy would be just incredible,” Virginie Durr, Delta’s enterprise sales manager, told PEOPLE ahead of the veterans’ visit. “To be honest, I thought it was such a crazy idea — it would never happen. But it came to the ears of people like our CEO [Ed Bastian] and he said, yeah, that’s the right thing to do.”

“During COVID, we were losing World War II veterans quite rapidly,” Durr adds. “Basically the people of Delta rallied around what it’s about: serving our veterans.”

The successful invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, marked a decisive shift in the war. On that day, over 4,400 Allied troops died, with 2,500 of them Americans.

On Tuesday, June 4, the returning veterans paid tribute to their fallen comrades at Normandy American Cemetery, according to Delta. They also visited the Overlord Museum for a tank demonstration and attended a gala dinner hosted by Normandy’s president, Hervé Morin. 

For Durr, the program is personal as she is originally from Normandy.

“My grandparents were liberated by people like [the American veterans],” she says. “So for me, it’s been a lifetime journey of honoring World War II veterans every year. Now I’m in America and I grew up with this passion and love for Americans who came to liberate us.” 

Harold Terens, 100, now lives in Florida and was one of the veterans who was recently flown to France courtesy of Delta.

He still remembers the Allied invasion of Normandy. As a member of the Army Air Forces, he communicated with the pilots who went into battle that day. Terens himself would later head to Normandy 12 days later after the landings. 

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“I was painting white stripes on the planes that remained,” Terens tells PEOPLE. “We had three separate missions back and forth, and we lost half of our planes and half of our pilots that day. It was one of the saddest days in my first 20 years of life.”

“Most of the pilots were my friends,” he says. “The average age was 26. We were all kids.”

“Normandy was just a horror to look at,” he goes on to add. “I still have nightmares about the war.”

During their visit to France for this year’s D-Day commemoration, the veterans will be honored with parades and ceremonies before they return to the U.S. on June 12.

“The 80th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings in Normandy will be a very special opportunity to honor WWII Veterans through various events, and also to pass the torch of remembrance to the next generation,” Morin, Normandy’s president, said in a statement.

For Durr, it’s about respect for those who fought for freedom in the war. She considers it gratifying to be involved in Delta’s program for what could be some of these veterans’ last D-Day commemoration in France.

“[It’s] just a lot of humility and privilege and honor to have that opportunity again, to meet another World War II veteran,” she says. “I never take it for granted that this is the mission.”

“We need to celebrate them 80 years later,” she continues. “What a privilege that we have right now.”