UTAH BEACH, France (AP) 鈥� Twelve U.S. and British World War II veterans were given Legion of Honor awards by French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Macron pinned medals on the 11 Americans and one Briton at a 小蓝视频 at the American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach, attended by U.S. President Joe Biden.
鈥淵ou came here because the free world needed each and every one of you, and you answered the call,鈥� Macron said. 鈥砓ou came here to make France a free nation. You鈥檙e back here today at home, if I may say.鈥�
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP鈥檚 earlier story follows below.
UTAH BEACH, France (AP) 鈥� Leaders, veterans and visitors from around the world paid tribute Thursday to in moving ceremonies on and around the Normandy beaches where the Allies landed exactly 80 years ago, with the war on the minds of many and a common message that tyranny cannot be permitted to prevail.
Ever-dwindling numbers of who have pilgrimaged back to France, and Russia鈥檚 full-scale invasion of Ukraine that has dashed hopes that wouldn鈥檛 again be laid to waste in Europe, are making the poignant anniversary of the June 6, 1944, Allied landings even more so.
The break of dawn eight decades after Allied troops waded ashore under hails of gunfire on five code-named beaches 鈥� Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword 鈥� kicked off a day of remembrance by Allied nations now standing together again behind Ukraine 鈥� and with World War II ally Russia not invited by host France. It cited Russia鈥檚 鈥渨ar of aggression against Ukraine that has intensified in recent weeks鈥� for the snub.
With the dead and wounded on both sides in Ukraine estimated in the hundreds of thousands, commemorations for the on D-Day and many tens of thousands more, , killed in the ensuing Battle of Normandy are tinged with concerns that .
鈥淭here are things worth fighting for,鈥� said World War II veteran Walter Stitt, who fought in tanks and turns 100 in July, as he visited Omaha Beach this week. 鈥淎lthough I wish there was another way to do it than to try to kill each other.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檒l learn one of these days, but I won鈥檛 be around for that,鈥� he said.
As now-centenarian veterans revisit old memories and , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's presence at the D-Day commemorations with world leaders who are supporting Ukraine鈥檚 fight against Russia鈥檚 invasion 鈥� 鈥� will inevitably fuse together World War II's awful past with the fraught present.
Conscious of the inevitability that major D-Day anniversaries will soon take place without World War II veterans, huge throngs of aficionados in uniforms and riding vehicles of the time, and tourists soaking up the spectacle, flooded Normandy for the 80th anniversary.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so historic and we just have to remember the sacrifices of everybody who gave us our freedom,鈥� said Becky Kraubetz, a Briton now living in Florida whose grandfather served with the British Army during World War II and was captured in Malta.
鈥淚t gives you goosebumps, everything that happened here. Imagine just jumping into the water, freezing cold,鈥� the 54-year-old said as she gazed across the English Channel, tears in her eyes. 鈥淭he bravery, the courage, for people to face that is just unbelievable 鈥� very, very humbled to be here.鈥�
She was among a crowd of thousands of people that stretched for several kilometers (miles) along Utah Beach, the westernmost of the D-Day beaches.
In a quiet spot away from the official ceremonies, France's Christophe Receveur performed his own tribute, unfurling an American flag he had bought on a trip to Pennsylvania to honor those who died on D-Day.
鈥淭o forget them is to let them die all over again,鈥� the 57-year-old said as he and his daughter, Julie, then carefully refolded the flag into a tight triangle, adding that those now dying in Ukraine fighting the invading Russian army were also on his mind.
鈥淎ll these troops came to liberate a country that they didn't know for an ideology 鈥� democracy, freedom 鈥� that is under severe strain now,鈥� he said.
The fair-like atmosphere fueled by World War II-era jeeps and trucks tearing down hedge-rowed lanes so deadly for Allied troops who fought dug-in German defenders, and of reenactors playing at war on sands where D-Day soldiers fell, leave open the question of what meaning anniversaries will have once the veterans are gone.
But at the 80th, they're the VIPs of commemorations across the Normandy coast where the largest-ever land, sea and air armada punctured Hitler鈥檚 defenses in Western Europe and helped precipitate his downfall 11 months later.
鈥淭hey really were the golden generation, those 17-, 18-year-old guys doing something so brave,鈥� said James Baker, a 56-year-old from the Netherlands, reflecting as dawn broke on Utah Beach.
Farther up the coast on Gold Beach, a military bagpiper played at precisely the time that British troops landed there 80 years ago.
The United Kingdom's King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak were among those at a 小蓝视频 later in the day to honor the troops who landed there and on Sword Beach, while Prince William and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined others at 小蓝视频 for the Canadian troops who landed on Juno Beach.
In his address, the king told the crowd that the world was fortunate that a generation 鈥渄id not flinch" when they were called upon.
鈥淥ur obligation to remember what they stood for and what they achieved for us all can never diminish,鈥� he said.
Speaking in French, Charles also paid tribute to the 鈥渦nimaginable number鈥� of French civilians killed in the battle for Normandy, and the bravery and sacrifice of the French Resistance.
French President Emmanuel Macron pledged that 鈥矲rance will never forget鈥� those who fought to liberate his country.
Biden was to take part in a 小蓝视频 later at the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach.
Those who traveled to Normandy include who built bombers, tanks and other weaponry and played other that were long overshadowed by the combat exploits of men.
鈥淲e weren鈥檛 doing it for honors and awards. We were doing it to save our country. And we ended up helping save the world,鈥� said 98-year-old Anna Mae Krier, who worked as a riveter building B-17 and B-29 bombers.
Feted where ever they go in wheelchairs and walking with canes, veterans are using their voices to repeat their message they hope will live eternal: Never forget.
鈥淭o know the amount of people who were killed here, just amazing,鈥� 98-year-old Allan Chatwin, who served with the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, said as he visited Omaha, the deadliest of the Allied beaches on D-Day.
He quickly added: 鈥淚 don't know that amazing is the word.鈥�
John Leicester, The Associated Press
