PLZEN, Czech Republic — Bob Wimer remembers everything about his arrival in the city of Plzen 60 years ago as a young field artillery private with the 97th Infantry Division.

Lashed by Gen. George Patton to chase down retreating German forces in Western Bohemia in the final days of the war, Wimer and his fellow troops met stiff resistance in the town — but not from fleeing Nazi soldiers. The grateful citizens of the occupied Czech city were blocking their path to the local brewery.

“The people were out in the street with wine and beer and lilacs,” said Wimer, now 82.

“They stuck ’em everywhere they could stick ’em, and we looked like bushes going down the street. I’ll never, never forget those lilacs.”

The welcome for U.S. troops hardly lessened in Plzen this week, where American World War II veterans were regaled for their efforts in a series of commemorative events Thursday and Friday. Local citizens mobbed the small bands of veterans as they walked from ceremony to ceremony, asking for autographs and clapping as they walked past. Many older residents clasped their hands or hugged them, and thanked them in Czech.

The Plzen proceedings are part of the events leading up to the observation of the 60th anniversary of Victory in Europe across Europe this weekend. They spanned three days of parades, speeches and wreath-laying services throughout the city.

On Friday, members of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division and 16th Armored Division were thanked in special events before a grand finale “Thank you America!” ceremony was held in downtown Plzen.

The last event included a flyover by fighter jets, an address by Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus, an appearance by a U.S. color guard and the presence of a U.S. presidential delegation.

For many of the dozens of U.S. veterans in attendance, the week’s events were a reminder of happy days at the end of a long, bloody fight across the Continent.

Bill Creech, an 85-year-old veteran of the 2nd ID, said that his division had 20,000 casualties, including 3,000 killed, during an 11-month battle across Germany.

“We were very tired,” when they reached Plzen, he said.

Former 97th Infantry Division soldier Robert Crooker remembered chasing German tanks out of the Rhineland to get to the Czech border, and having to endure fire from the Germans’ murderous 88 millimeter guns.

“Several times we were under 88 fire,” Crooker said. “We got so tired of those 88s that we finally captured one.”

But by the time lead elements of the 16th AD reached the city on May 6, 1945, the Nazis were just days away from final surrender, and the shooting was all but over.

“The Germans were whipped and they knew it,” Wimer said. “We had to run like hell to catch ’em.”

The atmosphere made for high times for the soldiers when they moved into the Plzen area.

“We parked out here at the square, and all the young ladies came out,” said Roy Pickel, 83, who came in a later wave of soldiers. “The people were lovely, you couldn’t beat them.”

Other veterans recalled the sense of relief and accomplishment after their victories.

“It was a great feeling that the Americans and Europeans had got together and were going to rid the world of Hitler,” said Alan Buckley, 79, a former master sergeant with the V Corps headquarters battalion.

Buckley was one of many vets who had attended previous commemorations in the Czech Republic, and planned to make future ones. “I’m going to go until I’m 100,” he said.

In many of Friday’s speeches, both Czechs and Americans talked about the need to remember the war, while nurturing the friendship between the two nations.

“We are joyful again today, for you are free,” Creech said to a mixed crowd of veterans and Czechs. “Your destiny is in your own hands. Cherish it and nourish it and the freedom it brings with all your might.”