WASHINGTON – “They were brave, they were determined, they were ready,” President Joe Biden said Thursday at the Normandy American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach, one of five cemeteries along the northern coast of France that Allied troops invaded in 1944 and turned the tide of World War II.
Biden and dozens of U.S. lawmakers traveled to Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, the largest land, air and sea operation in military history.
More than 150,000 soldiers from the United States, Great Britain and Canada landed on the beaches on June 6, beginning a months-long battle that ultimately led to the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany.
Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron honored nearly a dozen D-Day survivors and other World War II veterans on a stage before a huge crowd that included military personnel, U.S. officials, members of Congress and Hollywood stars Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, who recreated poignant World War II scenes on film.
Caregivers and busy military members helped the veterans stand before Macron as he placed France’s Legion of Honor, the highest military award, on their shoulders. Biden shook each veteran’s hand as he accepted the medal.
Those honored on stage included Hilbert Margol of Georgia, John Wardell of New Jersey, Robert Pedigo of Indiana, Calvin Shiner of California, Edward Berthold of Illinois, Dominick Critelli of New York, Bill Casassa of Kansas, Victor Chaney of Indiana, Raymond Glansberg of Florida, Richard Stewart of Ohio and Jack Kinyon of Illinois.
About 20 miles east, Macron paid the same honor to British veterans at a separate event attended by King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the British Normandy Memorial overlooking Gold Beach. after to reporters at the ceremony.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave a speech at nearby Juno Beach. after to reporters present.
“Bands of Brothers” take part
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden met with 41 veterans of the Normandy campaign, 33 of whom were deployed on D-Day, according to reporters accompanying the president. Biden presented each with a commemorative coin featuring the presidential seal and images of soldiers on the beaches of Normandy.
According to reporters present, about 180 American World War II veterans attended the ceremony.
Many veterans over 100 years of age or nearly 100 sat in wheelchairs on a shaded stage, wrapped in blue blankets and wearing red, white and blue scarves.
Small American and French flags flew beside each white marble cross and Star of David in the many rows commemorating the resting place of thousands of Americans at Colleville-sur-Mer, France.
More than 9,300 Americans are buried in the 68-acre cemetery. Just over 300 headstones are marked “Unknown.” A Wall of the Missing lists nearly 1,600 names of Americans who are missing or lost at sea.
“Many, it is obvious, never came home. Many survived that longest day and fought on for months until victory was finally achieved. And some remarkable brothers are here with us today,” Biden said during the ceremony, which was streamed live by several broadcasters, including C-SPAN.
On the first day of the invasion, more than 4,400 Allied soldiers died, including 2,501 Americans.
“Just walk down the rows of the cemetery, as I did. Nearly 10,000 heroes are buried side by side – officers and enlisted men, immigrants and native-born, different races, different faiths, but all Americans, all who served with honor,” Biden said.
“Isolationism was not the answer”
The day was full of reminders that the Russian ground invasion of Ukraine is still ongoing.
While Russia fought as an ally in the Battle of Normandy and supported the Eastern Front, current President Vladimir Putin continues his attacks and land grabs in Ukraine.
“Isolationism was not the answer 80 years ago, and it is not the answer today,” Biden said to applause.
“We know the dark forces that these heroes fought against 80 years ago. They never go away – aggression and greed, the desire to dominate and control, to change borders by force,” Biden said, referring to Russia’s Putin. “They are everlasting, the struggle between dictatorship and freedom is endless.”
“The fact that they [WWII veterans] “The fact that we were heroes that day does not absolve us of the responsibilities we face today. Democracy is never guaranteed,” Biden said.
Biden said the US would “not abandon” Ukraine.
“Because if we do that, Ukraine will be subjugated, and that will not be the end,” Biden said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended a separate D-Day event in Omaha Beach, according to White House press corps reporters who accompanied Biden to his second event of the day.
The recent $60 billion security package for Ukraine lasted six months. clear congress because of forceful opposition from the far right.
Biden said NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization founded four years after World War II and now has more than 30 member states, is “the largest military alliance in the history of the world.”
Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, two more European states joined the alliance in 2023 and 2024: Finland, which shares a long land border with Russia, and Sweden, which lies just across the Baltic Sea.
The alliance has been the target of criticism from the presumed Republican presidential candidate for 2024 and former President Donald Trump. In particular, in February said In a CNN interview, he said he would encourage Russia to “do whatever they want” with NATO countries, depending on their financial contributions to the alliance.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a brief speech on Thursday that allied nations must “once again stand firm against aggression and tyranny” and “uphold the spirit of D-Day.”
