![]() War veterans shake hands and exchange memories as they meet again for the 60th anniversary of D-Day, 2004. Xavier Rossi / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images) veteran Ronald MacArthur Hirst and German veteran Franz Gockel relive the invasion from a cliff overlooking the beach, 2004. ![]() Hundreds of D-Day veterans and their families watch the D-Day memorial ceremony, 1994. Wally McNamee / CORBIS / Corbis via Getty Images Pebbles are arranged to commemorate the invasion on its 50th anniversary, 1994. president Ronald Reagan addresses a group of D-Day veterans gathered in Normandy, 1984.Ī D-Day veteran salutes his lost comrades on the 50th anniversary of the battle in 1994.ĭavid Turnley / Corbis / VCG via Getty Images Henri Bureau / Sygma / Corbis / VCG via Getty Images president Jimmy Carter and French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing visit Omaha Beach, 1978. Keystone-France / Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images Mcavoy / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty ImagesĪ small group of veterans return to D-Day to mourn, 1954.Ĭhildren look on as Allied veterans gather at Omaha Beach for the 20th anniversary of D-Day, 1964. Lawton Collins and Henry Cabot Lodge stand over the grave of one of their soldiers on the 10th anniversary of the invasion, 1954. In honor of this year’s commemoration, here is a look back at how the D-Day memorials have evolved over time-and how the battle and the soldiers who fought in it cemented their place in world history.ĭ-Day generals J. ![]() D-Day veterans are still expected to travel back to Omaha Beach this month, including medic Ray Lambert, Robert Dalessandro, who organizes the memorials on the American side, said recently to The Atlantic, “In my heart, I know this is the last time we’re going to get D-Day veterans to this ceremony.” This year’s 75th anniversary memorial is likely to be one of the last with actual veterans of the battle present. In the years since, in addition to the regular commemorations that include staged reenactments and ceremonies led by heads of state of the United States, France, Canada, and the United Kingdom, France also commissioned a sculpture memorial, called Les Brave, to honor the dead. The surprise invasion led to an estimated 10,000 deaths on the Allied side, with nearly 2,000 Allied troops dying on Omaha Beach, the site of the most deadly skirmish of the battle. As the National World War II Museum put it, "The way to appreciate D-Day’s importance is to contemplate what would have happened if it had failed."Īfter two years of planning in total secrecy, 150,000 British, Canadian and American soldiers crossed the English Channel during nightfall, arriving on the beaches of German-occupied France at Normandy at 6 a.m. Every five years, veterans have made the pilgrimage back to Omaha Beach, Normandy, the site of the D-Day invasion that historians credit with expediting the defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II. ![]()
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