75 years after D-Day, Western leaders and ageing veterans gather on the shores of France today in a second day of events marking the day when Allied forces doomed the Nazi occupation of France, and opened the way for western Europe's liberation from Nazis forces.
In the second day of ceremonies, leaders, veterans, and their families from France, Europe and elsewhere were present for the solemn day, gathered at the water's edge, remembering the troops who stormed the fortified Normandy beaches to help turn the tide of the war and give birth to a new Europe, according to AP.
Up to 12,000 people gathered at the ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery, where more than 9,380 of the fallen are buried. U.S. veterans were the guests of honor, sharing a giant stage with President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, who awarded five of them the Legion of honor, France's highest distinction.
Britain's Prince Charles, his wife Camilla and Prime Minister Theresa May attended a service of remembrance at the medieval cathedral in Bayeux, the first Normandy town liberated by Allied troops after D-Day. Cardinal Marc Ouellet read a message from Pope Francis with a tribute for those who "gave their lives for freedom and peace."
"Thank you to all those who were killed so that France could become free again," French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday, standing with British Prime Minister Theresa May and uniformed veterans overlooking Gold Beach.
The ceremony included laying the cornerstone of a new memorial that will record the names of thousands of troops under British command who died on D-Day and ensuing Battle of Normandy.
"If one day can be said to have determined the fate of generations to come, in France, in Britain, in Europe and the world, that day was the 6th of June, 1944," May said.
"As the sun rose that morning," she said, not one of the thousands of men arriving in Normandy "knew whether they would still be alive when the sun set once again." To the veterans, she said "the only words we can - thank you."
According to AP report, the biggest-ever air and seaborne invasion took place on D-Day, involving more than 150,000 troops that day itself and many more in the ensuing Battle of Normandy. Troops started landing overnight from the air, then were joined by a massive force by sea on the beaches code-named Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword and Gold, carried by 7,000 boats.
During that moment, soldiers from the U.S., Britain, Canada and other Allied nations applied relentless bravery to carve out a beachhead on ground that Nazi Germany had occupied for four years.The Battle of Normandy, code-named Operation Overlord, hastened Germany's defeat less than a year later.
Follow the latest news on Google News
