Leland Durand of Cortez has come a long way from Omaha Beach: thousands of miles and 56 years. Saturday, he finally received some long-overdue recognition from the French government for his heroism in the invasion of Normandy.

U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Colorado, organized a ceremony at Rotary Park in Durango on Saturday to honor approximately 30 World War II veterans who fought to conquer that beachhead and inched their way through the hedgerows to liberate France from German occupation.

In 1994, on the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings, the French government presented the Jubilee of Liberty medal to about 35,000 U.S. veterans at Normandy. The governor of Normandy has since given permission for the medal to be given to U.S. veterans who were not able to travel to France for that ceremony.

"This is for the veterans who, for one reason or another, were not able to go to Normandy" in 1994, McInnis said Saturday.

McInnis commended the soldiers for making a sacrifice for the future of America. They are "the legends of today for the future leaders of tomorrow," he said.

State Rep. Mark Larson, R-Cortez, read an eight-minute speech about the history of the invasion, and La Plata County Commissioner Josh Joswick proclaimed Aug. 12, 2000, as the Normandy Veterans Jubilee of Liberty Day.

"The veterans of the World War II invasion of Normandy, France, risked their lives in the face of death and destruction and ... fought to secure our liberty and the liberty of others," the proclamation said.

On D-Day, Durand was a 20-year-old infantryman. After conquering the beaches, the Allied soldiers battled their way across France and into Germany. That autumn, he was injured in Germany. He was evacuated to Belgium, spent Thanksgiving in a Paris hospital, then was shipped to England and finally arrived home in the spring of 1945.

He still thinks about World War II, which he remembers as a "battle royal," and he recently saw the movie, "Saving Private Ryan."

"It was so mind-numbing to me I had to leave," he said. "He (Tom Hanks) sure had that down fine."

"I thought it was great," he said of the Saturday ceremony. "I enjoyed meeting McInnis, and Jim Dyer was a nice fellow."

And he said he understood why the recognition had been a long time coming.

"Things like that, they get passed over," he said. "There was so much going on then. Medals weren’t much on anybody’s mind."

Other veterans from Montezuma County who were honored in Saturday’s ceremony included George A. Fry, George E. Green and Jack D. Littell.

Also receiving the medals were Orville O. Briel, Paul E. Brown, Raymond L. Brown, Manuel E. Castas, Lloyd Clark, Willard L. Croonenberghs, Grover Dale Eastin, Armin F. Fick, Albert L. Greefkens, Walter Heaton, Jimmie Ray Holley, Frank J. Lambo, Reuben R. Marquez, Manuel A. Martin, Bruce M. Muirhead, William E. Olsen, John Sauer Jr., Peter T. Savich, Merl E. Short, Edward C. Thompson, Gregorio Trujillo, Joe A. Valdez, John W. Wallace, Ernest Watkins, Frances Weems and Jose A. Winters.