Albany High School marching band headed to Normandy

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The only marching band from the state of New York that will be in France this week for the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D-Day is from Albany. Members of the Albany Marching Falcons will be boarding an international flight on Tuesday to head overseas. For some of the students, it will be their second time in France to commemorate to solemn anniversary.

Trombone player Masami Surisawa, a senior at Albany High School, explained, "To get the chance to honor them in the only way I can, it's incredible. This will probably be the last of these celebrations. There probably won't be an 85th. There will be no one left that fought."

The weight of the milestone making their time in Normandy even more noteworthy. The students have put in countless hours of rehearsal time to make sure each piece is played to perfection. Tuba player Julio Davis added, "I don't know if it'll be possible for me to grasp the total significance until I'm there. It's such a big deal, so much more of a big deal than anything I've ever done."

Their hymns to the fallen hold important keys to the past as clarinet player Simon Carey explained, "I had great grandfathers who fought in World War II."

Davis also added, "My great-grandfather was actually a veteran who served in World War II in France. I'm not sure if he was at D-Day but bringing his memory there has been important to me."

The students aren't the only one with a personal connection. Bryan Cady, the band director for the Marching Falcons, said, "My grandfather served in World War II. I can literally say I wouldn't be here if WWII hadn't happened."

Cady will lead his students marching down Omaha Beach. "Just being there, knowing at the time, knowing what had happened, on that beach," he remembered from his last trip for the 75th anniversary. "I tell the kids you're gonna feel it like a punch to the gut."

The patriotic music will serve as a reminder of the countless sacrifices made on D-Day. "Standing there in the American cemetery surrounded by people who aren't much older than me who really laid down their lives for the entire western world," Carey reflected.

To help bridge the past with the present, the students will play Captain America's March, a salute to the heroes still among us.