Beach Artists Pay Tribute To 75th D-Day Anniversary

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NJ — The beach artists known as the Bikini Boys are turning sand into sculpture in Seaside Heights again, and they started off by paying tribute to a solemn occasion: the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

The sculpture, created on the North Beach portion of Seaside Heights, is a rendering of the famous photo of soldiers lined up in an amphibious vehicle preparing to land on the beaches of Normandy in France for the assault on Nazi forces.

More than 4,000 soldiers died during the invasion that led to the defeat of the Germans and the liberation of France and western Europe from German control.

The Bikini Boys have been creating sculptures on the beach for several years, from patriotic themes for the Fourth of July to historical events, such as honoring the first moon walk, to popular culture, such as the Looney Tunes cartoon closing and characters from Star Wars. While most of their sculptures are created during the summer tourist season, they have created some to honor specific holidays, including a rendering of the planting of the U.S. flag at Iwo Jima last November for Veterans Day.

The group — called the Bikini Boys because the artists don T-shirts that look like a woman dressed in a bikini — captured a great deal of attention with its sculpture of then-Gov. Chris Christie, dressed in a shirt and shorts and sitting in a beach chair, inspired by the now-famous photo of Christie on the beach at Island Beach State Park, which was closed to tourists during the state shutdown in 2017.

Check out the video below and check their Instagram account for more photos of their handiwork.

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