On June 6, 1944, throughout World Struggle II, on so-called “D-Day,” roughly 160,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy, France, and started “Operation Overlord” to liberate Western Europe from German occupation.
Greater than 4,400 Allied troopers had been killed that day alone, greater than half of them Individuals. The precise variety of German casualties on D-Day is unknown, however estimates vary from 4,000 to 9,000 folks killed, wounded, or lacking.
This yr marks the 82nd anniversary of the Normandy Seaside Landings, and solely a handful of veterans are nonetheless alive to inform the story. Six of these final veterans then traveled to France to commemorate the landings on the Normandy Memorial in England.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and Deputy Commander of the Protection Division Elbridge Colby took half in a world ceremony honoring navy veterans in Langrune-sur-Mer on Saturday.
Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth additionally attended the ceremony and paid tribute to the nation’s monument honoring veterans of the invasion who helped change the course of the conflict.
Hegseth was joined on the ceremony by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Workers Dan Cain and different navy officers.
Referring to the service members who sacrificed their lives, Hegseth stated they “carried the hopes and prayers of a free world.”
“They fought for his or her nation on a continent that they had by no means seen, they usually crossed oceans to save lots of folks that they had by no means seen. …()…Alongside the courageous forces of Nice Britain, Canada, France, Norway, Poland, and different succesful and stalwart allies, the American navy spearheaded the Nice Campaign to crush the Nazi conflict machine and liberate the continent,” Hegseth stated.
British Protection Secretary John Healy additionally paid his respects by laying flowers on the foot of the Normandy Memorial, which lists 22,540 British names in its Roll of Honor.
As the most important simultaneous naval navy operation in historical past, D-Day started with tens of 1000’s of troops touchdown concurrently on 5 separate seashores in Normandy.
After greater than a yr of cautious strategic planning, the invasion was delayed by 24 hours attributable to extreme storms and missed its unique goal date of June 5, which commanders had chosen to make the most of uncommon optimum climate, low tide, and a full moon.
In navy parlance, “D” merely stands for “day” and signifies the designated begin date of a significant operation.
