In honor of Memorial Day, veterans and their families gathered for a service at Ontario Beach Park to celebrate and honor their fellow soldiers who have passed on.
By now, the surviving veterans of world war two are in their 90s, and it can be hard to imagine some of these men as teenagers at war so far from home.
But at the Battle of the Bulge Memorial, some of few remaining veterans of the bloodiest battle in World War II recall their experiences in vivid detail, including Charlotte's own Jack Foy.
"Snow-covered mounds, once men, our comrades, dotting the landscape, many with their arms and legs raised through the snow seemingly begging us not to forget them."
Max Boudakian was in France in the winter of 1944 as well. He was awarded with the French Legion of Honor at the Memorial Day Ceremony, Frances highest decoration.
"I was given the gift by survival, by helping out the government, and I've had a very fruitful life and I'm 90 and still going strong."
Boudakian says he accepts the honor not just for himself, but as a representative for all his fellow soldiers who died in the war and have passed since.
