Dawn breaks over the beaches of Normandy as the world prepares to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Dawn breaks over the beaches of Normandy as the world prepares to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Utah Beach, France: Intense anniversary celebrations are underway against the backdrop of a new round of fighting in Europe, namely in Ukraine, as the sun sets on the D-Day generation and rises again over the beaches of Normandy, where soldiers fought and died precisely eighty years ago on Thursday.
The historically poignant anniversaries of the June 6, 1944, Allied landings are made even more so 80 years later by the steadily declining number of World War II veterans who have made the pilgrimage back to France and by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has dashed hopes that lives and cities would not be laid to waste in Europe once more.
The presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at D-Day commemorations with world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, who are supporting his country’s fight against Russia’s invasion, will inevitably fuse together the terrible past of World War II with the volatile present on Thursday, as centenarian veterans revisit old memories and fallen comrades buried in Normandy graves.
Aware that significant D-Day anniversaries will soon be held without the participation of World War II veterans, massive crowds of enthusiasts dressed in period attire and driving vintage vehicles, as well as tourists taking in the spectacle, have descended upon Normandy for the 80th anniversary.
A day of remembrance by the Allied nations, now united once more behind Ukraine, will begin at sunrise nearly eight decades to the day after Allied troops waded ashore under barrages of gunfire on five code-named beaches — Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Notably, host France has not extended an invitation to Russia, a World War II ally. It cited Russia’s “war of aggression against Ukraine that has intensified in recent weeks” for the snub.
Commemorations for the over 4,400 Allied dead on D-Day and the many tens of thousands more, including French civilians, killed in the ensuing Battle of Normandy are tinged with worries that World War II lessons are being lost, given the estimated hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded on both sides in Ukraine.
Visiting Omaha Beach this week, World War II veteran Walter Stitt—who served in tanks and will turn 100 in July—stated, “There are things worth fighting for.” “However, I wish there was a different approach instead of trying to kill each other.”
He remarked, “I won’t be around for that, but we’ll find out one of these days.”
Aware that significant D-Day anniversaries will soon be held without the participation of World War II veterans, enormous crowds of enthusiasts dressed in period attire and driving vintage vehicles, as well as visitors taking in the spectacle, have descended upon Normandy for the 80th anniversary.
“We just have to remember the sacrifices of everybody who gave us our freedom,” stated Becky Kraubetz, a British resident of Florida whose grandpa was captured in Malta while serving in the British Army during World War II. “It’s so historic,” Becky continued.
You get chills from everything that transpired here. With tears in her eyes, the 54-year-old exclaimed, “Imagine just jumping into the water, freezing cold.” She was staring across the English Channel.
It’s unclear what significance anniversaries will have once the veterans are gone, given the carnival-like atmosphere created by World War II-era jeeps and trucks tearing down hedge-row lanes that were so deadly for Allied troops fighting dug-in German defenders and by reenactors playing at war on the sands where D-Day soldiers fell.
However, on this 80th anniversary, they are the special guests of remembrance along the Normandy coast, where the greatest-ever land, sea, and air armada breached Hitler’s defenses in Western Europe and contributed to his downfall, which occurred 11 months later.
As daylight rose on Utah Beach, 56-year-old Dutchman James Baker remarked, “They really were the golden generation, those 17-, 18-year-old guys doing something so brave.”
Women who constructed bombers, tanks, and other weapons and performed other crucial duties in World War II that were long overlooked by men’s military accomplishments are among the millions of women who traveled to Normandy.
“We weren’t doing it to win prizes or honors. We were taking action to preserve our nation. And we ultimately contributed to saving the world,” said 98-year-old riveter Anna Mae Krier, who built B-17 and B-29 bombers.
Veterans are using their voices to spread the phrase “Never forget” wherever they travel in wheelchairs and while using canes. They hope this message will last forever.
When visiting Omaha, the worst of the Allied beaches on D-Day, 98-year-old Allan Chatwin, who served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, stated, “To know the amount of people who were killed here, just amazing.”
“I don’t know that amazing is the word,” he hastily added.
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