Western leaders, veterans commemorate D-Day’s 80th anniversary in Normandy

VER-SUR-MER, France – Moving letters from veterans were read as ceremonies kicked off in Normandy on June 6 to mark the 80th anniversary of the 1944 D-Day landings, when more than 150,000 Allied soldiers invaded France by sea and air to drive out the forces of Nazi Germany.

At the British ceremony in Ver-sur-Mer, veterans were applauded as they filed into the event to take their seats, which were decorated with bright red poppies.

“I want to pay my respects to those who didn’t make it. May they rest in peace,” veteran Joe Mines said in words read by actor Martin Freeman.

“I was 19 when I landed, but I was still a boy... And I didn’t have any idea of war and killing.”

Royal Navy veteran Ron Hendrey said, in words read by actor Douglas Booth: “I tried to forget D-Day, but I can’t. I have lived 80 years since that day; my friends have remained under the earth.”

Both veterans were present at the ceremony.

With war raging in Ukraine, on Europe’s borders, 2024’s commemoration of the major turning point in World War II carries special resonance.

The anniversary took place in a year of many elections, including for the European Parliament this week and in the United States in November.

Leaders who were present drew parallels with World War II, and warned of the dangers of isolationism and the far right.

Solemn music was played, and Tom Jones sang I Won’t Crumble With You If You Fall, in a ceremony attended by King Charles and Queen Camilla, and French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte.

King Charles, in full military dress, was visibly moved as he paid tribute to those who took part in the landings, as well as the French resistance.

“We recall the lesson that comes to us again and again across the decades: Free nations must stand together to oppose tyranny,” he said.

“Our admiration is eternal,” said King Charles, who spoke in both French and English. “Let us pray such sacrifice will never be made again.”

After the ceremony, King Charles, Mr Macron and their wives chatted and shook hands with veterans and other guests.

With the number of veterans, many aged 100 or more, fast dwindling, this is likely to be the last major ceremony in Normandy honouring them in their presence.

Some 200 veterans, most of them American or British, took part in ceremonies throughout the day on windswept beaches that still bear the scars of the fighting that erupted on D-Day, history's largest amphibious invasion, in which thousands of Allied soldiers died.

Mr Macron presented a Legion d’Honneur award to Ms Christian Lamb, a 103-year-old member of the wartime British female naval service who helped plan the landings, describing her as “a hero in the shadows”.

“You have set us an example, which we will not forget. France will never forget the British troops who landed on D-Day and all their brothers in arms,” he said.

“We are honoured by the ties of remembrance, friendship and loyalty which were forged between our two countries.”

At a separate event at the Normandy American cemetery, US President Joe Biden met World War II veterans, giving salutes, handshakes and hugs to the men, many in wheelchairs, who came to France for the anniversary.

He and his wife Jill took photos with the veterans, and the President gave them each special commemorative coins.

In a speech, Mr Biden said Ukraine, which is at war with Russia, was invaded by a “tyrant intent on domination” and that democracy was now more at risk than at any point since World War II.

“Make no mistake, we will not bow down, we cannot surrender to the bullies, it is simply unthinkable. If we do, freedom will be subjugated, all Europe will be threatened,” he said in Colleville-sur-Mer.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and many others also took part in the day of tributes.

But Russia, which launched

a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022,

touching off Europe’s biggest armed conflict since World War II, was not invited.

Earlier in the day, as the sun rose in Arromanches-les-Bains, one of the beaches where Allied troops came ashore 80 years ago, small crowds filtered onto the beach to watch a collection of World War II jeeps and an amphibious vehicle coming ashore carrying a bagpiper playing a sombre tune.  

At Omaha Beach, the largest of the D-Day landing areas, where about 2,400 US servicemen lost their lives that day, more than 20 heads of state and government attended an international ceremony later in the day.

Landing craft re-enacted part of the landings, while several warships and patrol boats anchored on the horizon.

At a Canadian ceremony, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “We must all continue to stand for democracy day in day out; we owe it to future generations.”

Prince William, speaking at the same ceremony, said: “Standing here today, in peaceful silence, it is almost impossible to grasp the courage it would have taken to run into the fury of battle that very day.” REUTERS