Original plane to join 75th D-Day anniversary

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Filled with paratroopers, a US warplane lumbered down an English runway in 1944 to spearhead the World War II D-Day invasion with a message for Adolf Hitler painted in bright yellow across its nose: "That's All, Brother."

Seventy-five years later, in a confluence of history and luck, that plane is again bound for the French coast for what could be the last great commemoration of the Allied battle that will include D-Day veterans, many of whom are now in their 90s.

Rescued from obscurity in Wisconsin after Air Force historians in Alabama realized its significance, the restored C-47 troop carrier that served as a lead aircraft of the main invasion force will join other vintage planes at 75th anniversary ceremonies in June.