D-Day anniversary commemorations begin in France
Visitors walk among the 9,387 graves at the Colleville American Military Cemetery on the 69th anniversary of the 1944 D-Day invasion on June 6 in Colleville sur Mer, France. Several hundred veterans of the 1944 D-Day landings in Normandy gathered to commemorate the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. Remy de la Mauviniere, AP
A U.S. landing barge packed with soldiers approaches the landing zone on June 6, 1944, at Normandy, France. AP
A rose and an old picture rest on the tomb of U.S. Army Lt. Richard W. Peterson from Colorado, one of the 9,387 U.S. soldiers buried at the Colleville American Military Cemetery. Nearly 10,000 allied troops were wounded or killed during the invasion. Remy de la Mauviniere, AP
American troops wade ashore on June 6, 1944, as German machine guns fire from coastal defense positions. AP
World War II veterans attend a ceremony at the American cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. Thomas Bregardis, AFP/Getty Images
A mother and child walk among the graves at the Colleville military cemetery. Remy de la Mauviniere, AP
Officials lay wreathes during a ceremony at the Colleville American Military Cemetery. Remy de la Mauviniere, AP
Members of the American Legion raise the U.S. flag. Remy de la Mauviniere, AP
D-Day veteran Eric Gibbons, 90, looks at the headstones of fallen comrades at a remembrance and wreath-laying ceremony at Bayeux War Cemetery in Bayeux, France. Matt Cardy, Getty Images
A visitor to the Bayeux War Cemetery looks at the headstones for British servicemen who were killed during the Normandy campaign. Next year, which will mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, is widely expected to be the last time that the veterans will gather in any great number. Matt Cardy, Getty Images
A D-Day veteran visits the Bayeux War Cemetery. Matt Cardy, Getty Images
Veterans attend a remembrance and wreath-laying ceremony at the Bayeux War Cemetery. Matt Cardy, Getty Images
A World War II Dakota transport aircraft is displayed at the Merville Gun Battery on June 5 near Caen, France. Matt Cardy, Getty Images
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower visits paratroopers before they depart on a D-Day operation on June 5, 1944, at an airfield in England. AP
People dressed in World War II uniforms sit in front of a tank near the Pegasus Bridge Memorial Museum near Caen, France. Matt Cardy, Getty
Landing ships unload men and supplies on Omaha Beach during Operation Overlord, the invasion of Nazi-occupied France, in June 1944. AP
People walk and kitesurf on the beach in Caen, France, close to the area where the D-Day landings took place on June 6, 1944. Matt Cardy, Getty
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A rose and a picture is laid on the grave of Lt. Richard W. Peterson, of Colorado, one of the thousands of U.S. soldiers buried at the Colleville American military cemetery in France.(Photo: Remy de la Mauviniere, AP)
Story Highlights
- Full day of ceremonies is planned across Normandy in honor of the troops who served in WWII
- Crowds gathered at the graves of servicemen and women fallen in the Allied invasion of Normandy
- Today is the 69th anniversary of D-Day
COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — Commemorations of the 69th annniversary of D-Day have begun with the stars-and-stripes being raised in a quiet ceremony at the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach.
Tourists, many from the U.S. and Britain, gathered in the still morning under a brilliant spring sky to witness the flag-raising amid the neat rows of thousands of white marble crosses and stars of David marking the graves of U.S. servicemen and women fallen in the Allied invasion of Normandy that began June 6, 1944.
A full day of ceremonies including fireworks, concerts and marches is planned across Normandy Thursday in honor of the 150,000 troops, mainly US, British and Canadian, who risked or gave their lives in the liberation of German-occupied western Europe during World War II.
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