A special flag raising ceremony took place Sunday at Armed Forces Plaza in Hauppague, marking the 77th anniversary of D-Day.

Gale Monroe, of Babylon, spoke during the ceremony about her father, Tech Sgt. Charles Monroe, who selflessly stormed the beaches that day to help liberate Europe from German-led Axis forces.

"I don't think he would've called himself a hero. But he was 101st Airborne…one of the men who parachuted and jumped onto the beaches of Normandy on D-Day."

When Charles returned home from war, he became involved with veterans' events and parades.

"The Veterans Day Parade, Memorial Day Parade, he marched in all of them for as long as he could," Monroe said.

Charles passed away at age 77 in 1998. But he continues to be a patriotic presence at veterans' events across Long Island. Monroe has made it her mission to show up at as many parades and veterans' ceremonies as she can, with a cardboard cutout of her father by her side.

"If you love your freedom, and you love this country, you have to be proud of anyone that enlists and serves and possibly gives their life for this country. There's no greater sacrifice," she said.

An American flag, which was flown over Normandy, France to mark the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, now flies over the plaza.

D-Day was the largest seaborne invasion in history and led to the liberation of Europe from Nazi control and, ultimately, the end of WWII.