Officials from Allied nations joined a handful of elderly veterans today to mark the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings which led to the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi tyranny.
On June 6, 1944, Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy in Nazi-occupied France.
The audacious move – involving the largest ever fleet of ships, troops, planes and vehicles across the English Channel – tore into Hitler’s defences in Western Europe and paved the way for Allied victory.
A total of 4,414 Allied troops were killed on D-Day and 73,000 more died in the Battle of Normandy, which followed, with 153,000 wounded. Around 20,000 French civilians were also killed.
“To the greatest generation, we salute you” – Al Carns
Al Carns, Veterans Minister and MP for Birmingham Selly Oak, said: “Eighty-one years ago today thousands of brave men and women began the liberation of Europe from Nazi tyranny.
“This act of courage, selflessness and sacrifice should remind us all that freedoms are not free. To the greatest generation, we salute you.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said: “It’s 81 years since thousands of British and allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy in an audacious operation to liberate Western Europe.
“We will honour and remember those who risked their lives for peace with events in Normandy today.”
Services honouring the fallen were held today at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer and at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer.
