The last WWII vets converge on Normandy for D-Day and fallen friends and to cement their legacy

Published June 4, 2024 7:42 AM

By JOHN LEICESTER, SYLVIE CORBET and DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

OMAHA BEACH, France (AP) — Across Normandy, France, where the largest-ever land, sea and air armada punctured Adolf Hitler’s defenses in western Europe on D-Day, Allied veterans of World War II are the VVIPs of 80th anniversary celebrations this week. Veterans, many of them centenarians and likely returning to France for one last time, pilgrimaged Tuesday to what was the bloodiest of five Allied landing beaches on June 6, 1944. Veterans are remembering fallen friends, reliving the horrors of combat and blessing their good fortune for surviving. They’re also mourning the ultimate price paid by those who didn’t and hoping generations following them don’t forget.

Article Topic Follows: AP-National

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