Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Friday 7 June 2019
D-Day at 75: Nations honor aging veterans, fallen comrades

By RAF CASERT May said.
JOHN LEICESTER As the sun rose that morn-
ELAINE GANLEY ing, not one of the thou-
Associated Press sands of men arriving in
OMAHA BEACH, France Normandy "knew whether
(AP) — Standing on the they would still be alive
windswept beaches and when the sun set once
bluffs of Normandy, a dwin- again," she said.
dling number of aging vet- Passing on memories is es-
erans of history's greatest air pecially urgent, with hun-
and sea invasion received dreds of World War II veter-
the thanks and praise of a ans now dying every day.
world transformed by their Canadian Prime Minister
sacrifice. Justin Trudeau hailed those
The mission now, they said, who "took a gamble the
was to honor the dead and world had never seen be-
keep their memory alive, 75 fore."
years after the D-Day op- Speaking at Juno Beach
eration that portended the where 14,000 Canadians
end of World War II. came ashore, Trudeau
"We know we don't have lauded the resulting world
much time left, so I tell my French President Emmanuel Macron, right, talks to French war veteran Leon Gautier, a member of order including the United
story so people know it the Kieffer commando, during a ceremony to pay homage to the Kieffer commando, Thursday, Nations and NATO that
was because of that gen- June 6, 2019 in Colleville-Montgomery, Normandy. have helped preserve
eration, because of those Associated Press peace.
guys in this cemetery," said But postwar tensions were
99-year-old Steve Melnikoff them press on "to help men memoration was held in A 21-gun salute thundered evident. Not invited to the
of Maryland, standing at and women they didn't Portsmouth, England, the into the waters below the remembrance was Russian
Colleville-Sur-Mer, where know, to liberate a land main embarkation point for cemetery, on a bluff over- President Vladimir Putin,
thousands of Americans most hadn't seen before, the transport boats. Then looking Omaha Beach, who had been present for
are buried. for no other cause but free- the dignitaries came to and across the rows of the 70th commemoration
"All these generals with all dom, democracy." the bluffs and beaches of white crosses and Stars of D-Day.
this brass that don't mean He expressed France's debt Normandy, where veterans of David. The final resting On Wednesday, German
nothing," he said. "These to the United States for free- recalled what they saw 75 places of more than 9,380 Chancellor Angela Merkel
guys in the cemetery, they ing his country from the Na- years ago. of the fallen stretched out said it was a "gift of history"
are the heroes." zis. Macron awarded five "The water was full of dead before the guests. that she was able to par-
Thursday's anniversary was American veterans with the men, the beach had burn- Britain's Prince Charles, his ticipate in the ceremony
marked with eloquent Chevalier of Legion of Hon- ing landing craft," said Jim wife, Camilla, and Prime on Britain's southern coast.
speeches, profound silenc- or, France's highest award. Radford, 90, a British D-Day Minister Theresa May at- Some 22,000 German sol-
es — and passionate pleas "We know what we owe veteran from Hull, describ- tended a remembrance diers are among those bur-
for an end to bloodshed. to you, veterans, our free- ing the scene near Gold service at the medieval ied around Normandy.
French President Emman- dom," he said, switching Beach, where British land- cathedral in Bayeux, the The D-Day invasion was a
uel Macron and U.S. Presi- from French to English. "On ed. first Normandy town liber- defining moment of mili-
dent Donald Trump praised behalf of my nation I just He was there again to ated by Allied troops after tary strategy complicated
the soldiers, sailors and air- want to say 'thank you.'" watch the unveiling of D-Day. by unpredictable weather
men who took part in the About 160,000 troops were a statue at Gold Beach, Hundreds of people and human chaos in which
invasion, codenamed Op- took part in D-Day, and where a memorial to British packed the seaside square soldiers from the U.S., Brit-
eration Overlord, saying it many more fought in the fighters is to be erected. in the town of Arroman- ain, Canada and other Al-
was the turning point that ensuing Battle of Norman- At dawn Thursday, hun- ches to applaud veterans lied nations applied relent-
ended Nazi tyranny and dy. dreds of civilians and mili- of the Battle of Normandy less bravery to carve out
ensured peace for Europe. Of those 73,000 were from tary alike from around the that ensued. A wreath was a beachhead on ground
"You are the pride of our the United States, while world gathered on Omaha placed outside the town's that Nazi Germany had oc-
nation, you are the glory 83,000 were from Brit- Beach. D-Day Museum. cupied for four years.
of our republic, and we ain and Canada. Troops Dick Jansen, 60, from the Gratitude was a powerful The Battle of Normandy
thank you from the bottom started landing overnight Netherlands, drank Cana- common theme. hastened Germany's de-
of our heart," Trump said of from the air, then were dian whisky from an enam- Macron thanked soldiers feat less than a year later.
the warriors who took part joined by a massive force el cup on the water's edge. "so that France could be- Still, that single day cost the
in what he called the ulti- by sea on the beaches of Others scattered carna- come free again" at the lives of 4,414 Allied troops,
mate fight of good against Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword tions into the waves. Ran- Gold Beach ceremony with 2,501 of them Americans.
evil in World War II. and Gold, carried by 7,000 dall Atanay, the son of a May and uniformed veter- More than 5,000 were in-
"They battled not for con- boats. medic who tended to the ans laid the cornerstone jured. On the German side,
trol and domination, but "The eyes of the world are dying and wounded, wad- of the memorial that will several thousand were
for liberty, democracy and upon you. The hopes and ed barefoot into the water, record the names of thou- killed or wounded.
self-rule," Trump said in a prayers of liberty-loving bonding with his dad, who sands of troops under British From there, Allied troops
speech at the Normandy people everywhere march has since died. command who died in Nor- would advance, take Paris
American Cemetery over- with you," Gen. Dwight D. Up to 12,000 people at- mandy. in late summer and race
looking Omaha Beach, the Eisenhower had said in his tended the ceremony at "If one day can be said to with the Soviet Red Army to
bloodiest of five landing order of the day. "The tide the Normandy American have determined the fate control as much German
beaches. has turned! The free men of Cemetery, with U.S. veter- of generations to come, in territory as possible by the
Macron saluted the cour- the world are marching to- ans, their numbers fast di- France, in Britain, in Europe time Adolf Hitler died in his
age, generosity and gether to victory." minishing as years pass, the and the world, that day Berlin bunker and Germany
strength of spirit that made On Wednesday, a com- guests of honor. was the 6th of June, 1944," surrendered in May 1945.q