US general: Ukraine will keep getting ‘significant’ support
COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday that the United States and allied countries will keep providing “significant” support to Ukraine, out of respect for the legacy of D-Day soldiers. In an interview with The Associated Press in Normandy, Milley said Russia’s war on Ukraine undermines the rules established by Allied countries after the end of World War II. “I think that the United States and the allied countries are providing a significant amount of support to Ukraine, and that will continue,” Milley said.
news.yahoo.comPrince Charles hails 'incomparable' Normandy veterans as he opens first permanent memorial on 77th anniversary of D-Day landings
The Prince of Wales today paid tribute to the "incomparable" Normandy veterans as a "long overdue" memorial was officially opened on the 77th anniversary of D-Day landings. Prince Charles, 72, spoke of the importance of preserving the memory of the "remarkable individuals” commemorated there for future generations. The British Normandy Memorial, designed by British architect Liam O'Connor, records the names of all 22,442 servicemen and women under British command who fell on D-Day and the Battle
news.yahoo.comNational D-Day Memorial hosts annual event to honor the 4,415 men killed in war
BEDFORD, Va. – The National D-Day Memorial in Bedford is hosting its annual Flames of Memory event this weekend. Staff and volunteers were out Friday morning, arranging bags with battery-operated candles throughout the memorial’s grounds. Those luminarias will light up the night sky through Sunday, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.Each one represents a man killed on D-Day. There are 4,415 of them. “It’s really hard when you hear a number like that to imagine what that would look like, but this event allows you to see that by seeing all of the bags that are placed, starting at Burks Hill Road, all the way throughout the memorial,” said Maggie Hartley, associate director for programming and events for the National D-Day MemorialAdmission is free and donations are welcome.
UK honors war dead in scaled-back Remembrance Sunday service
(Joe Giddens/PA via AP)LONDON – In a scaled-back service, Queen Elizabeth II led tributes Sunday to those from the U.K. and the Commonwealth who perished in wartime, as most veterans paid their respects at home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The 94-year-old monarch looked on from a balcony at a government building above the Cenotaph on Whitehall in central London on the 100th year anniversary of the memorial's installation following the conclusion of World War I. Following a two-minute silence at 11 a.m., Prince Charles laid a wreath on the queen's behalf during the Remembrance Sunday commemoration. Though the service was very different, people up and down the land took time out to honor the war dead. “We need to be conscious of those risks and that’s why remembrance matters,” he added.
On sad anniversary, few to mourn the D-Day dead in Normandy
In sharp contrast to the 75th anniversary of D-Day, this year's 76th will be one of the loneliest remembrances ever, as the coronavirus pandemic is keeping nearly everyone from traveling. It poses a particular threat to the elderly like the surviving D-Day veterans who are in their late nineties or older. All across the beaches of Normandy tens of thousands came from across the globe to pay their respects to the dead and laud the surviving soldiers. The acrid smell of wartime-era jeep exhaust fumes and the rumble of old tanks filled the air as parades of vintages vehicles went from village to village. Someday the COVID-19 pandemic, too, will pass, and people will turn out to remember both events that shook the world.
No in-person D-Day ceremony has financial, emotional impact on Bedford
BEDFORD, Va. For the first time, the annual D-Day ceremony in Bedford will be virtual, which means a big loss in potential revenue for businesses in the town. There was no crowd Friday at the Bedford Boys Tribute Center, adding insult to injury after the past few months. Being closed these months, weve lost a lot of revenue coming in to sustain and pay the rent and everything," said Bedford Boys Tribute Center Co-Curator Linda Parker. A small town, but they have a true love for the Bedford Boys and the people that live in this town," Parker said. To watch the virtual D-Day ceremony, click here.
WWII veteran thank you dinner postponed to September due to virus
ROANOKE, Va. – An event honoring our World War II veterans will have to wait until September because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the past 35 years, Bernard Marie has honored those who fought for the Allied Forces with a dinner the day before D-Day. Marie hosts the dinner as a thank you since he was a just a boy when American troops stormed the beaches of Normandy to free his country from captivity. He has now written a book, “D-Day in the Eyes of a Boy,” so others will remember what America did for Europe. You have one guy who was killing people because they were not the same color of skin, same religion, million of million of Jewish.
Church bells ring in Bedford for the 75th anniversary of V-E Day
BEDFORD, Va. – Bedford has a deep connection to World War II, and the town commemorated one of the war’s most important dates Friday morning. Church bells filled the air for the 75th anniversary of V-E Day, the day World War II officially ended in Europe. 19 men from Bedford, known as the “Bedford Boys,” were killed while storming the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. The National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, which itself commemorated the 75th anniversary of D-Day last year, had planned a parade in town for V-E Day. Although the parade has been canceled, National D-Day Memorial President April Cheek-Messier said the bells still illustrate the significance of this day.
Thousands gather to honor, celebrate veterans in Bedford for Veterans Day
BEDFORD, Va. - For Veterans Day, thousands came to celebrate veterans at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford. Local elementary students paid tribute in songs, while high school students brought in the flags. Peter Caddick-Adams writes in "Sand and Steel" more than 4,000 people died on D-Day, but 10,000 soldiers died during the training before the war. So really, I think we need to be paying tribute to those who died in the training and preparation as on that first day of combat," Caddick-Adams said. At the end of the program, veterans lined up to be embraced and thanked by local students and community.
Bullet-riddled U.S. flag that survived D-Day comes home 75 years later
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Shot through by German machine gun bullets and tattered by the wind, an American flag that flew on the first U.S. invading ship on D-Day came home on Thursday in a White House ceremony. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueThe flag handover was a main part of the visit to the White House by Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands, who held Oval Office talks with President Donald Trump. I need to give it back, Kreuk said in a telephone interview ahead of the ceremony, at which he spoke. The LCC 60 was the only one of the three to complete its mission in the chaos of D-Day. Kreuk said his donation of the flag is aimed at remembering World War Two.
feeds.reuters.comBullet-riddled U.S. flag that survived D-Day coming home 75 years later
The flag handover will be a main part of the visit to the White House by Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands, who is to have talks with President Donald Trump. The 48-star flag was on the U.S. Navys LCC 60, which was one of three advance ships directing troops onto Utah Beach on the Normandy coast on June 6, 1944. The LCC 60 was the only of the three to complete its mission in the chaos of D-Day. To Kreuk, 54, the flag represented the liberation effort that saved his family from Nazi rule during World War Two. Trump attended ceremonies in Normandy on June 6 marking the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
feeds.reuters.comA not-so-traditional France vacation: All the reasons to visit the historical grounds of Normandy
Teach your children or grandchildren about these historical grounds where thousands of young men gave their lives for our freedom. How do you visit the beaches of Normandy the right way? Start your visit to Normandy at a few of the many museums around the region. Getty Images Tourists visit the Mulberry harbours at the beach at Arromanche in Normandy (Ilia Yefimovich/Getty Images). Getty Images Tourists visit the memorial sites at Utah Beach (Ilia Yefimovich/Getty Images) (Photo by Ilia Yefimovich/Getty Images).
The world changing history of D-Day
The world changing history of D-Day Historian Kenneth C. Davis, author of the popular “Don’t Know Much About History” series, joins “CBS This Morning: Saturday” with a look back at WWII and D-Day – the beginning of the end for Hitler’s brutal Nazi conquest of Europe.
cbsnews.comObama, Putin discuss Ukraine conflict for first time
Obama, Putin discuss Ukraine conflict for first time President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke Friday on the sidelines of a lunch for world leaders attending D-Day commemoration ceremonies, marking their first face-to-face conversation since the crisis in Ukraine erupted. Chip Reid reports.
cbsnews.comVeterans gather in Normandy for D-Day anniversary
Veterans gather in Normandy for D-Day anniversary Tributes to the veterans on the 70th anniversary of D-Day took many forms, including a full reenactment. This commemoration was a last chance to say thank you in person to many of the veterans. Mark Phillips reports.
cbsnews.com6/6: Return to Normandy: Remembering D-Day 70 years later; WWII veteran runs to raise awareness for "hero" warship
6/6: Return to Normandy: Remembering D-Day 70 years later; WWII veteran runs to raise awareness for "hero" warship World War II Allies met on the beaches of Normandy to remember the longest day and their finest hour; and, as part of our continuing series "On the Road," Steve Hartman meets Ernie Andrus, 90, who is running to make sure that one of the unsung heroes of the war, the landing ship tank, is never forgotten.
cbsnews.com6/5: GM first learned of defect in 1999, probe finds; D-Day veteran returns to Normandy for final mission
6/5: GM first learned of defect in 1999, probe finds; D-Day veteran returns to Normandy for final mission GM CEO Mary Barra told employees around the world that the fallout from its ignition switch defect was not a conspiracy, but rather incompetence and neglect. An investigation conducted by an attorney, who had a long relationship with GM, found the company first discovered problems with ignition switches as early as 1999; and, for the remaining survivors of the D-Day invasion, some now in their 90s, this has been a week for one final reunion. And as Mark Phillips explains, for one D-Day veteran it's taken him 70 years to finally confront a ghost from his past.
cbsnews.com70th anniversary of D-Day: Living veterans share memories
70th anniversary of D-Day: Living veterans share memories The clock is ticking for veterans of D-Day, the largest sea invasion in the history of the world that led to the defeat of Hitler's Germany. Now in their 90s, survivors are still telling their stories as the last witnesses to the history they made. Mark Phillips reports.
cbsnews.comWWII veteran remembers secret D-Day debacle
WWII veteran remembers secret D-Day debacle As the Allies commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-Day, there is one story from the invasion many people don't know. Jim Axelrod hears the story of what happened during the rehearsal -- kept secret by the U.S. military -- firsthand from an American veteran.
cbsnews.com6/3: Despite White House apology, lawmakers fume over Taliban swap; WWII veteran remembers secret D-Day debacle
6/3: Despite White House apology, lawmakers fume over Taliban swap; WWII veteran remembers secret D-Day debacle Republican leaders and some Democrats argue the Obama administration intentionally left them in the dark about the prisoner swap that freed Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl; and, Jim Axelrod hears the story of what happened during the D-Day rehearsal -- kept secret by the U.S. military -- firsthand from an American veteran.
cbsnews.comHonoring the female pilots of WWII
Honoring the female pilots of WWII Chances are the invading Allied troops of D-Day would’ve faced an even tougher fight on the beaches of Normandy if not for some special pilots spreading their wings in the run-up to the attack. Stephanie Riggs has the story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, the WASPs, whose sacrifices during World War II were barely known, until now.
cbsnews.comFrance holds ceremony for WWII vets 70 years later
France holds ceremony for WWII vets 70 years later Seventy years after the D-Day invasion, France honored 34 additional American veterans. The men were decorated as knights of France’s legion of honor. Each vet was given an insignia for his role in liberating France from Nazi occupation. Vinita Nair reports.
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