8/3/2023 0 Comments D day remembrance 2014Many history buffs, wearing military and civilian clothes from the period, also came to stage a reenactment of the events. He did not hide his pleasure, happily waving to the crowd as parents explained the achievements of World War II heroes to their children. Wallace, who is using a wheelchair, was among about 20 WWII veterans who opened Saturday's parade of military vehicles in Sainte-Mere-Eglise to great applause from thousands of people, in a joyful atmosphere. On the German side, several thousand were killed or wounded. On that single day, 4,414 Allied soldiers lost their lives, 2,501 of them Americans. On D-Day, Allied troops landed on the beaches code-named Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword and Gold, carried by 7,000 boats. "Calvados!" he joked, in reference to Normandy’s local alcohol. He was asked about the secret to his longevity. "I guess you can say I’m proud of what I did but I didn’t do that much." So it’s a little emotional," he said, with sadness in his voice. "I remember the good friends that I lost there. He was ultimately liberated after 10 months and returned to the U.S. Less than a month later, he was taken prisoner by the Germans. And then whenever the guy dropped us out, we were away from where the rest of the group was. He landed 20 miles (32 kilometers) away from the town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise, the first French village to be liberated from Nazi occupation. On D-Day, his plane was hit and caught fire, forcing him to jump earlier than expected. They applauded more than 20 WWII veterans who were present at the commemoration.Īmid them was Ray Wallace, 97, a former paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division.įILE - French army officials attend an air show during a ceremony marking the 78th anniversary since Allied forces landed in Normandy on "D-Day" during World War II in Ouistreham, on June 6, 2022. Several thousand people attended a ceremony at the American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach in the French town of Colleville-sur-Mer. But this year, crowds of French and international visitors - including veterans in their 90s - were back in Normandy to pay tribute to the nearly 160,000 troops from Britain, the U.S., Canada and elsewhere who landed there to bring freedom. "Of course I have to say that they should protect their freedom that they have now," he said.įor the past two years, D-Day ceremonies were reduced to a minimum amid COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Shay's message to young generations would be "to be ever vigilant." ![]() "In this time, in any time, war is not good." This year, Shay handed over the remembrance task to another Native American, Julia Kelly, a Gulf War veteran from the Crow tribe, who performed the sage ritual. "In 1944, I landed on these beaches and we thought we’d bring peace to the world. I feel sorry for the people there and I don’t know why this war had to come, but I think the human beings like to, I think they like to fight. ![]() FILE - Participants attend the flag raising ceremony during a commemoration marking 78 years since Allied forces landed in Normandy during World War II, in Bernieres-sur-mer, on June 6, 2022.
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