Lawrence M. Meier met General Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II but Meier’s real thrill came when he saw Glenn Miller perform with his band in England.
“I loved his music because it meant so much to me and the rest of the guys,” said Meier, 93, a Villager who was part of the D-Day landing at Omaha Beach. “That was the music I grew up with and hearing it made you feel closer to home.”
Meier was part of an at times boisterous but also solemn sellout crowd for a D-Day Remembrance Concert by the Villages Swing Band Saturday evening at the Eisenhower Recreation Center. It marked the 71st anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944.
Conductor Jean Butler, Emcee George Del Monte and singer Billie Thatcher turned the event into a nostalgic and heartfelt reminisce and tribute to a time gone by and the men and women who gave so much for their country.
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“It’s an honor to be here,” Butler said, gazing into a front row filled with World War II veterans. “It’s very emotional to see them and play for them. We’re proud to do it.”
Meier was one of those vets listening to the big band sounds. He was part of audience participation when The Villages Swing Band played the Glenn Miller classic, “Pennsylvania 6-5000.”
“You all know the words, now sing along,” Del Monte said from the stage.
Conductor Butler turned around to face the audience and waved her arms to get them to sing.
Before long, there was Meier and his fellow vets shouting, “Pennsylvania 6-5-oh-oh-oh.”
“I remember that one,” Meier said. “When we were in England waiting for D-Day, Ike came to visit the troops. He was from Kansas and I was from Kansas. I told Ike where I was from and he said, ‘Good, we need all the Kansas boys we can get to do a good job.’
“I saw Glenn Miller twice. He would fly in and entertain the troops. He sounded great, just the way you would expect him to sound.” Miller was killed in an airplane crash during the war.
“We lost a lot of good people and I’m thinking of them tonight,” said Villager Louigi Tortu, who served in the South Pacific and soon turns 95.
When asked what D-Day means, Tortu replied: “We saved the world, because this was a world war. It was a long time ago but no one should ever forget it. What else can I say?”
Billie Thatcher has a way with a song and on this night was at her best. Thatcher gave new life to such standards as “Someone to Watch Over Me,” and “I’ll Be Seeing You” and brought a few tears from those in attendance. Thatcher seemed to channel Judy Garland for a sweet, sentimental and emotionally-charged version of “Over the Rainbow” that brought back so many memories of a time long gone but not forgotten.
“That song means a lot to me,” Thatcher said, explaining she used to sing it as a young performer. “Now it means even more.”
Lou Imfeld, 93, understands. He joined the Marines on Dec. 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was part of the First Marine Division that saw vicious combat in the Pacific, including constant bombardment at Guadalcanal. That was Japan’s first land defeat of World War II.
“It’s an honor to be here tonight for all the men and women who fought in World War II, and especially for those who didn’t come back,” he said. Music was one of the things that helped Imfeld get through the dark days of the war.
“It was always good to hear these songs because they made you think about home. And home was so far away.”
There seemed to be two kinds of songs that dominated the war years. One was the hard-driving swing and jazz of Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington. Then there was the melancholy nostalgia that singers like Judy Garland, Doris Day, Dinah Shore, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra could deliver.
Del Monte, who never sang in front of a large audience before, delivered a bluesy “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” Afterwards someone told him, “Hey George, I didn’t know you could sing.”
“Neither did I,” Del Monte replied.
Thatcher and Del Monte combined for a jumping and jiving, “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” that had the crowd clapping along.
The Villages Swing Band was running hot all night long. Drum man Rich Roeske practically blew the walls down with his torrid solo on “Sing, Sing Sing.”
Other soloists who impressed the crowd included saxophonists Howard Glitt, Tom Budzinski and Bob Wile. Also impressive: Mary Lund on trombone and trumpet players Jill Van Syckle, Mike Smucker and Dave Olshanski.
But this was a night when the real stars were the World War II vets in the seats.
Clint Westberry, 87, was serving in the Navy when he was just 15 years old. “They needed welders and I was a welder,” he said.
Eventually, he earned a high school degree while in the service and became an instructor. He also loved music because, “I was a good dancer. I grew up with older sisters and they taught me to dance. I always tried to find a USO and I looked for the best girl to dance with. There’s nothing like dancing to the music of Tommy Dorsey or Glenn Miller. I still get a kick out of it and I love hearing it tonight.”
Clifford Bulmer turns 93 later this month and he was also enjoying the music of his youth. But the World War II veteran had more on his mind on this D-Day anniversary.
“I keep thinking of those guys who hit those beaches and how brave they were,” Bulmer said. “If the guy in front of you got shot, you just went right over him and kept going. I can’t imagine how they did it. But we’ve got to appreciate it.” Then he added, “And never forget it.”