AKRON, Ohio — Robert Sabetay, a U.S. Army veteran who served for two years during World War II, returned to France for the 78th anniversary of the storming of the beaches of Normandy on D-Day in 1944.
Sabetay, also known as 'Bud,' resides in Akron and departed Tuesday morning.
Sabetay received two awards during the trip to France. First was the French Legion of Honor and he was also named an Honorary Citizen of Utah Beach.
The French Legion of Honor is the highest French order of Merit, military or civil. The award was established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte and has been retained by all French governments and regimes since with small alterations.
The Best Defense Foundation took Bud and 29 other WWII veterans to Normandy for the 78th anniversary of D-Day.
Sabetay was sent to Europe for World War II when he was 19-years-old, just a year after he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Originally, Bud served as a radio operator, but transitioned into the infantry right before the Battle of the Bulge.
"On Christmas Day, I went into the Battle of the Bulge and the infantry," said Sabetay. "I had a week's training in the infantry and went in."
Sabetay reflected on his experiences during WWII with 3News, which are extensively written in his book, "Memoirs of an American Jewish Soldier."
Most of the veterans traveling to France returned for their first time, including Bud.
"The Best Defense Foundation has been sending our veterans back to the battlefields not just in France, but in Belgium, in Germany, Pearl Harbor and Iwo Jima," says Rich Riley, an avid supporter of veterans and guide for Bud on the trip.
Riley, from Strongsville, has met Bud a few times, but has developed a friendship ahead of their week-long trip.
"Their generation gave so much and to go back and experience this first hand with these heroes, it's an opportunity of a lifetime, it's humbling beyond description," Riley said.
Sabetay told 3News before the trip that he looked forward to joining other veterans in the return to France.
"I'll be with fellow soldiers that fought in the war and they're all my age, either older or younger and I'll be looking forward to that," says Sabetay.
The trip, organized by the Best Defense Foundation, was free for the veterans.