World War II veterans are joining heads of state and others on the beaches of Normandy to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Policemen guard the area during the sun is about to rise over Omaha Beach near Colleville-sur-Mer Normandy, Thursday, June 6, 2024. World War II veterans from across the United States as well as Britain and Canada are in Normandy this week to mark 80 years since the D-Day landings that helped lead to Hitler's defeat.
The Allied invasion, which began on June 6, 1944, led to the defeat of the Nazis and the end of the war. The assault began with Allied aircraft bombing German defenses in Normandy, followed by around 1,200 aircraft that carried airborne troops. As dawn broke, Allied forces started bombing German coastal defenses and shortly after that vessels began putting troops ashore on five codenamed beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.
“It gives you goosebumps, everything that happened here. Imagine just jumping into the water, freezing cold,” said the 54-year-old who now lives in Florida, as the rays of the morning sun started to warm the hundreds of people who’d waited through the night’s chill for dawn’s break. But host France hasn’t invited World War II ally Russia, citing its “war of aggression against Ukraine that has intensified in recent weeks.”UTAH BEACH, France — Hundreds of people, some in WWII-era uniforms, arrived before dawn to stretch out across the now peaceful sands of Utah Beach, one of the five Allied landing zones on D-Day where troops waded into cold seas through hails of fire exactly 80 years ago.
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