80th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy 1944-2024 celebrate in France

Paris ( Imran Y. CHOUDHRY):- The Landing of June 6, 1944 and the Battle of Normandy are engraved in the mind of every Norman.

The anniversary of D-Day is commemorated annually, ceremonies and grand re-enactments. But this year — the hugely symbolic 80th anniversary since that day of days — it may be the last major milestone for many veterans to recount in their own words the sheer brutality of that pivotal battle.

The international D-Day ceremony at Omaha Beach is now in full swing, with musical and dance performances playing out on a wide stage, and paratroopers landing on the beach as other personnel play the bagpipes.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s speech, addressing veterans and world leaders assembled on Omaha Beach for an international D-Day commemoration ceremony, referenced the current war in Ukraine as well as what happened on June 6, 1944.

“Faced with the return of the war on our continent, faced with all they (the WWII veterans) fought for being challenged, faced with those who pretend to use force to change the borders, to rewrite history, let’s be worthy of those who landed here,” Macron said.

The D-Day landings on 6 June 1944 were a decisive turning point in the Second World War: the Liberation of France and Europe began on the beaches of Normandy. It was in Normandy that the face of today’s world was shaped. From 1942 onwards, with the Raid on Dieppe, the history of Normandy as a whole was intimately linked to that of the return of Freedom, Peace and Reconciliation.

On 6 June 1944 and in the days that followed, thousands of young men from fifteen different nations and 177 Frenchmen from the Kieffer Commando landed on the beaches of Normandy to liberate the country. By midnight on 6 June, more than 150,000 Allied soldiers were in Normandy, including 23,000 paratroopers and 20,000 vehicles of all sizes. 12,000 men had been killed, wounded or taken prisoner. Three months of battles followed to liberate Normandy. Then it was the turn of Paris and finally the whole of Europe.

Along with French President Emmanuel Macron present USA President Joe Biden, Britain’s King Charles III and other dignitaries to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when the Allied forces launched a surprise attack that helped liberate Europe from Nazi Germany.

Leaders traveled from around the world to attend commemorations in northern France, but the real stars of the occasion were the handful of remaining veterans.

Western leaders are also confronting a shattered postwar peace, with Russia waging a new war in Europe, and the far-right on the march.