(DWIGHT SMITH PHOTO)CONWAY — World War II U.S. Navy combat veteran Dwight A. Smith of Kearsarge last month visited the beaches of Normandy, France, site of the Allied invasion on what is known as D-Day, June 6, 1944. During the war, Smith, 92, was stationed in the South Pacific and was not part of that invasion, which led to Allied victory in Europe in 1945. Smith took an eight-day Vantage riverboat cruise on the Seine between Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, near Paris, and Honfleur, France, on the Normandy coast. It was on a railfans excursion to North Conway in 1968 that Smith first saw and inquired about the then-boarded up 1874-built North Conway Railroad Station. After acquiring rolling stock and making repairs, the tourist railroad opened Aug. 4, 1974, with 5 1/2 miles of track between North Conway and Conway.

Source: Daily Sun July 21, 2017 22:30 UTC