What we know
- President Joe Biden joined French President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's King Charles III and other dignitaries to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when the Allied forces launched a surprise attack that helped liberate Europe from Nazi Germany.
- "Democracy is never guaranteed," he told the assembled crowd at the Normandy American Cemetery as he honored the veterans who fought in the defining World War II battle and helped defeat Nazi Germany. He went on to praise NATO’s strength and unity, drawing an implicit contrast with his Republican rival, Donald Trump, who aides say considered withdrawing from the alliance.
- Leaders traveled from around the world to attend commemorations in northern France, but the real stars of the occasion were the handful of remaining veterans. About 150 American veterans who took part in the Normandy landings were expected to attend the ceremonies, which could be the last major milestone for many.
- Western leaders are also confronting a shattered postwar peace, with Russia waging a new war in Europe, and the far-right on the march.
Biden argues against 'America First' ideology
COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France — For the most part, Joe Biden’s address marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day sounded like a familiar ode to a historic war victory — but tucked into the speech was a warning to Americans.
Biden name-checked the World War II veterans who sat behind him onstage in wheelchairs, blankets draped over their laps in the early-afternoon chill. He praised their sacrifice in defeating Nazi tyranny. He highlighted the importance of alliances.
But he slipped in a plea to those who will decide in a few months whether he remains in power: Democracy is a fragile thing, and, all these years later, the battle for its survival is still in doubt.
The last living links to D-Day recount their Normandy memories
BÉNOUVILLE, France — The anniversary of D-Day is commemorated annually with solemn ceremonies and grand re-enactments. But this year — the hugely symbolic 80th anniversary since that day of days — it may be the last major milestone for many veterans to recount in their own words the sheer brutality of that pivotal battle.
Around 200 veterans attended this year’s event, the youngest in their 90s and some over 100. And an unavoidable truth, mostly unspoken this week across Normandy, is that the next five-year anniversary will almost certainly look very different.
Zelenskyy thanks U.S. veteran
“You’re the savior of the people,” a U.S. veteran told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the two men embraced in Normandy.
“No, no you. You saved Europe,” replied Zelenskyy.
International ceremony in full swing on Omaha Beach
OMAHA BEACH, France — The international D-Day ceremony at Omaha Beach is now in full swing, with musical and dance performances playing out on a wide stage, and paratroopers landing on the beach as other personnel play the bagpipes. Macron is expected to speak later in the event.
King Charles tells veteran who asked about his health that he's 'doing well'
King Charles told a D-Day veteran at a commemoration event in Normandy on Thursday that he was "doing well."
Inside a tent where tea and cakes were being served, Ronald Hendrey, 98, of Clacton-on-Sea, asked Charles about his health.
Charles, 75, recently resumed public duties after he was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer in February. Doctors discovered the disease after he was hospitalized with an enlarged prostate, although the palace says that he does not have prostate cancer.
“He was very nice, he listened to what I was saying and took it in,” Hendrey told Britain's Press Association news agency. “I asked him how he was doing, he told me he is doing well.”
Biden and more than 20 world leaders arrive at international commemoration
OMAHA BEACH, France — World leaders, including Biden and Macron, have now arrived at the international D-Day ceremony on Omaha Beach, an event attended by some 25 heads of state and 4,500 spectators.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy is among those attending, seen chatting with a number of World War II veterans onstage and embracing them after arriving. Despite Moscow’s pivotal role in WWII, the Russian delegation was uninvited to this week’s events, its presence deemed untenable because of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Heat beats down on commemorating crowds
COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France — By the time Biden, Macron and dozens of nonagenarian and centenarian veterans took the stage, the chilly morning had morphed into a scorcher.
With little shade in the bleachers and topiary of the Normandy American Cemetery, many in the crowd resorted to using their programs as makeshift hats. Organizers had warned attendees to bring their own food and water. Nonetheless, the lack thereof on site caused many to burn through their own supplies and visibly wilt in the heat.
The weather is something the veterans’ caregivers will have been acutely aware of during the ceremony, which was delayed by more than half an hour, with the former troops getting regular health checks throughout their trip.
Despite the thousands-strong crowd, the speeches were received in near total silence, aside from the chirrup of an errant cellphone or the warble of a songbird high up in the pine trees. That pin-drop calm was eventually broken by the chest-rumbling roar of a flypast by four F-35s flying in the “missing wingman” formation.
Biden praises 'astounding' courage of D-Day troops
PARIS — President Joe Biden has praised the “astounding” courage of the troops who fought on D-Day.
“Imagine what they had to come through,” Biden told David Muir, the anchor of “ABC World News Tonight.” “They got off those landing craft, many of them died.”
Describing their actions as “astounding,” Biden added, “What it says to me is how critical alliances are, how critical alliances are for our security.”
Watch the 21-gun salute in Normandy for 80th anniversary of D-Day
After President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to American veterans today, the ceremony ended with "The Last Post." A 21-gun salute followed before a moment of silence. Then there was a flypast from F-35 jets in the missing man formation.
We should all embrace D-Day veterans' story, Tom Hanks tells NBC News
Hollywood star Tom Hanks praised D-Day veterans, telling NBC News their story is part of “the enlightenment that we should all embrace.”
“The day is going to come where the last veteran of World War II is going to go and perhaps that might be the last veteran of D-Day. And when it happens the good news is that their story will have been told by them,” he told Peter Alexander, NBC News' chief White House correspondent.
“We have then a record of people who brought peace to the world, and their story must be told and studied, and it’s an example and it’s part of the enlightenment that we should all embrace,” added the star of “Saving Private Ryan.”
Hanks said the D-Day commemorations gave people the opportunity to think about “why in the world were there a bunch of American soldiers over here when they could have stayed home?”
“I’ll tell you, it’s because we’re a democracy and we’re an example to the rest of the world and we have always lived by the credo that sooner or later right-minded people had to get together and do the right thing,” he said.
“Coming here in 1944 was not about claiming territory or getting rich or maintaining a status quo. It was actually about ensuring the future of the world,” he added.