Veterans of the second world war D-Day landings have been joined by world leaders for a second day of events to mark the 75th anniversary of the allied operation in northern France that helped liberate Western Europe from Nazi occupation.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron joined former soldiers at a ceremony in Normandy on Thursday morning to commemorate the June 6, 1944, operation – the largest combined land, air and naval deployment in history.
More than 150,000 mostly American, British and Canadian allied troops took part in the landings, which saw soldiers set off from southern England’s port city of Portsmouth and surrounding areas to begin an air, sea and land attack on some 50,000 German forces stationed across the English Channel.
Speaking at the event at Ver-Sur-Mer, May said: “Standing here as the waves wash quietly onto the shore below us, it is almost impossible to grasp the raw courage it must have taken that day to leap from the landing craft and into the surf despite the fury of battle.”
“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 June 6, 1944,” she added. “To our veterans here in Normandy today, I want to say the only words we can: thank you.”
May and Macron laid a wreath at the commemorative first stone for a British memorial at Ver-Sur-Mer, Normandy [Philippe Wojazer/AP]
Macron also thanked “all those who were killed so that France could become free again”.
“We owe our freedom to our veterans, we will never surrender. And whatever it takes, we will always stand together. Because this is our common destiny,” he said.
‘They did their duty’
The D-Day landings started at 06:30am local time, targeting five code-named beaches, one after the other: Omaha, Utah, Gold, Sword, Juno. The operation also included actions inland, with 24,000 paratroopers deployed overnight over strategic German sites and US forces scaling cliffs to wrestle control of German gun positions.
Thousands were killed on both sides – more than 4,000 allied troops died on that day alone, with German fatalities estimated between 4,000 and 9,000. Survivors have since recounted how the coastline around Normandy was red with blood and the air thundered with repeated explosions.
More than 150,000 mostly US, British and Canadian troops took part in the D-Day landings [File: Christian Hartmann/Reuters]
“These young men belonged to a very special generation, the greatest generation, a generation whose unconquerable spirit shaped our post war world. They didn’t boast, they didn’t fuss, they served. They did their duty, as they laid down their lives, so that we might have a better life and build a better world,” May said.
Trump to pay respects
Further remembrance ceremonies are planned to take place throughout Thursday at the military cemeteries where those killed during the fighting were buried.
Among those will be an event attended by Macron and US President Donald Trump at the US war cemetery at Omaha Beach.
“D-Day has for 75 years been a powerful symbol of nations working together, working side by side, and we can expect French President Emmanuel Macron to refer to that in his speech,” said Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler, reporting from Normandy.
“He is, of course, a great believer in multilateralism and multinational institutions and cooperation. That is not the case with US President Donald Trump, who is a firm proponent of his ‘America first’ policy. We expect him to pay his respects to those who died here, but also to talk about how they were members of free and independent sovereign nations. The two leaders clearly have very different views of the world.”
On Thursday morning, Trump said in a tweet the 75th anniversary commemorations would “celebrate some of the bravest that ever lived”.
“We are eternally grateful,” he added.
Trump was one of several world leaders – including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – to attend a remembrance ceremony in Portsmouth on Wednesday to mark the departure of allied troops from British shores for the D-Day operations.
from Trendy Newses http://bit.ly/2JXQNYF
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