LANCASTER, Pa. -- World War II veterans who served in the 17th Airborne Division gathered in Lancaster to tell their stories and reunite.
Those vets served in the Battle of the Bulge during the war. In March 1945 the 17th Airborne Division led the invasion of Germany across the Rhine River and finished off the war.
Thousands of those men lost their lives.
Every year after the war, those vets met up for a reunion in different parts of the country, but they started to run out of steam in 2007.
In 2008, the Scions of the 17th Airborne Division, made up of descendants of the veterans, continued the tradition every ear at the Steamboat Inn in Lancaster.
Mike Rock, who served in the 17th Airborne Division, said, "This year I was about ready to crawl. I couldn't walk. And they were here. They helped me to get here, so it was very nice."
Stanley "Whitey" Von Nieda, also of the 17th Airborne Division, said, "It means a great deal coming from the standpoint of these guys. We shared an awful lot of our lives together, and we remember people we no longer can be in touch with."
Members of the group said about 1,000 veterans used to meet up, and now the numbers have dwindled to six to eight veterans at the reunion.