D-Day Commemoration Trip

The UNC Charlotte “Pride of Niner Nation” Marching Band was selected as the official band to represent the United States in Normandy, France, in June 2018. The performance marked the 74th anniversary of D-Day.

Performances at the international commemoration of D-Day were more than just a life-changing trip abroad. The journey brought our students of 2018 the opportunity to touch the history that led to our university. Their experiences became a bridge between the Greatest Generation and the generations to come.

Each year, only one marching band — most often a military band but frequently a university band of distinction — is chosen to represent the U.S. at the D-Day commemoration in Normandy, France. PNNMB had that honor as it approached just its fourth year of operation in June 2018.

Nearly 140 student members of the band had the opportunity of a lifetime to connect with UNC Charlotte’s roots as an educational center for returning WWII veterans as they honor the U.S. military service members whose heroic actions changed the course of world history. The trip was funded, in part, by a major gift from the UNC Charlotte Alumni Association.

While in Normandy, the band also marched in a parade in Sainte-Mère-Église, one of the first villages liberated by American troops, and performed at the Normandy American Cemetery. Watch video coverage of the PNNMB’s extraordinary overseas experience as they represented UNC Charlotte and the United States of America at these historic events: