This year marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day when Allied Forces invaded northern France by means of beach landings in Normandy during World War II

Each year the shores of Lake Erie in Conneaut are transformed into the beaches of Normandy.  

You'll first encounter an encampment of Allied, French and German soldiers all wearing and using authentic clothes, weapons and gear of that period.  You can interact with the reenactors and see first hand what things looked like.  

People come from all over America to see it, but why is this held here?

"We have the terraces that look like the bluffs that rise above the beaches in Normandy, so it's a great location of the visual representation of the Normandy coast," said D-Day Conneaut C.E.O. Betsy Bayshore.

The highlight of the event is the actual re-enactments.

"We have one on Friday that represents the Commonwealth landings. It features armor elements like tanks. On Saturday, we do our full version, condensed for time and space, of the D-Day landings," said Bayshore.

Why do so many people get involved in this re-enactment? They do it out of dedication for those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

"These were guys who had never been more than 20 miles from home in their life, and they went halfway around the planet and saved the world. You can't overstate what they did," said reenactor David Suesz.

The entire event is free; admission to parking to all the shuttle rides and boat rides in the harbor.  They ask for a small donation to keep the historical event going each year.