D-Day Photo Gallery: Honoring veterans, remembering fallen
OMAHA BEACH, France — With silent remembrance and respect, nations honored the fallen and the singular bravery of all Allied troops who sloshed through bloodied water to the beaches of Normandy 75 years ago on D-Day, the assault that portended the fall of Hitler's Third Reich.
French President Emmanuel Macron and President Donald Trump praised the soldiers, sailors and airmen, the survivors and those who lost their lives, in powerful speeches Thursday that credited the June 6, 1944, surprise air and sea operation that brought tens of thousands of men to Normandy, each not knowing whether he would survive the day.
"You are the pride of our nation, you are the glory of our republic, and we thank you from the bottom of our heart," Trump said, of the warriors engaged in the ultimate fight of good against evil in World War II.
Macron praised their courage, generosity and strength of spirit that made them press on "to help men and women they didn't know, to liberate a land most hadn't seen before, for no other cause but freedom, democracy."
He expressed France's debt to the United States for freeing his country from the reign of the Nazis. Macron awarded five American veterans with the Chevalier of Legion of Honor, France's highest award.
"We know what we owe to you, veterans, our freedom," he said, switching from French to English. "On behalf of my nation I just want to say 'thank you.'"
