75th D-Day commemoration: Veterans, civilians, political leaders mark World War II operation in France’s Normandy with appeals for world peace
FirstpostStanding on the windswept beaches and bluffs of Normandy, a dwindling number of ageing veterans of D-Day, history’s greatest air and sea invasion received the thanks and praise of a world transformed by their sacrifice. “They battled not for control and domination, but for liberty, democracy and self-rule,” Trump said in a speech at the Normandy American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach, the bloodiest of five landing beaches. “On behalf of my nation I just want to say ‘thank you.’” About 1,60,000 troops took part in D-Day, and many more fought in the ensuing Battle of Normandy. “The water was full of dead men, the beach had burning landing craft,” said Jim Radford, 90, a British D-Day veteran from Hull, describing the scene near Gold Beach, where British landed.