COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France -- President Donald Trump paid tribute Thursday to old men who were once the young Americans who stormed an occupied and fortified shore 75 years ago, and he called the storied D-Day invasion "an epic battle and the ferocious eternal struggle between good and evil."
Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders of the nations that defeated Nazi Germany joined the thinning ranks of veterans of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, at the cemetery where nearly 10,000 American war dead are buried.
Trump honored the sacrifice and patriotism of veterans in their 90s, who sat behind him in a chilly wind at the last major milestone anniversary that most are likely to see. The president celebrated American bravery and the unity of fighting forces that landed in Normandy and pushed on into Europe, helping to turn the tide of the war.
Dozens of American veterans of D-Day were among other veterans and their families on a stage erected within the semicircular stone memorial at the Normandy American Cemetery.
"They came from the farms of a vast heartland, the streets of glowing cities and the forges of mighty industrial towns," Trump said of the teenagers and young men who approached the Normandy shores. "Before the war, many had never ventured beyond their own community. Now, they had come to offer their lives halfway across the world."
"Those who fought here won a future for our nation. They won the survival of our civilization, and they showed us the way to love, cherish and defend our way of life for many centuries to come."
The president stopped mid-speech to embrace Russell Pickett, a 94-year-old Tennessee man who was wounded in the first wave that came ashore, telling him, "Private Pickett, you honor us all with your presence."
Trump also spoke of Ray Lambert, who landed on the beach as a 23-year-old Army medic with his brother Bill. Only seven of the 31 soldiers on Lambert's landing craft survived. As the bullets cut down his comrades, he raced repeatedly back into the sea to drag out wounded soldiers.
"He was shot through the arm," Trump said. "His leg was ripped open by shrapnel. His back was broken. He nearly drowned. He had been on the beach for hours, bleeding and saving lives, when he finally lost consciousness."
When Lambert woke up on a cot the next day, he found his brother lying beside him. Trump turned and gestured to Lambert, now 98, who was sitting behind him. It drew some of the loudest applause of the day.
Lambert has said this is probably his final visit to Normandy.
An 80th anniversary is planned, but even the youngest represented Thursday would be approaching 100 then.
"We know we don't have much time left, so I tell my story so people know it was because of that generation, because of those guys in this cemetery," said 99-year-old Steve Melnikoff of Maryland, standing at Colleville-Sur-Mer.
"All these generals with all this brass that don't mean nothing," he said. "These guys in the cemetery, they are the heroes."
French and U.S. flags flew at half-staff behind the crowd. Omaha Beach below was not visible from the elaborate stage, also decorated with French and U.S. flags, as well as mock-ups of the white crosses and Stars of David that line the grass beyond.
"We are gathered here on freedom's altar. On these shores, on these bluffs, on this day 75 years ago, 10,000 men shed their blood and thousands sacrificed their lives for their brothers, for their countries and for the survival of liberty," Trump said. "Today, we remember those who fell here, and we honor all who fought right here in Normandy. They won back this ground for civilization."
'THANK YOU'
The landings were the largest joint naval, air and land assault ever undertaken, an audacious feat that helped cement the role of the U.S. military as the world's pre-eminent fighting force.
Macron saluted the courage, generosity and strength of spirit that made soldiers press on "to help men and women they didn't know, to liberate a land most hadn't seen before, for no other cause but freedom, democracy."
He expressed France's debt to the United States for freeing his country from the Nazis. Macron awarded five American veterans with the Chevalier of Legion of Honor, France's highest award.
"We know what we owe to you, veterans, our freedom," he said, switching from French to English. "On behalf of my nation I just want to say 'thank you.'"
About 160,000 troops took part in D-Day, and many more fought in the ensuing Battle of Normandy. Of those 73,000 were from the United States, while 83,000 were from Britain and Canada. Troops started landing overnight from the air, then were joined by a force by sea on the beaches of Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword and Gold, carried by 7,000 boats.
In his speech, Trump praised the various countries that joined the Allied fight against the "wicked tyranny of the Nazi empire," name-checking the Canadians, the British and "the fighting Poles, the tough Norwegians and the intrepid Aussies," as well as French resistance fighters.
"They were the citizens of free and independent nations united by their duty to their compatriots and to millions yet unborn," he said.
Britain's Prince Charles, his wife, Camilla, and Prime Minister Theresa May attended a remembrance service at the medieval cathedral in Bayeux, the first Normandy town liberated by Allied troops after D-Day.
"If one day can be said to have determined the fate of generations to come, in France, in Britain, in Europe and the world, that day was the 6th of June, 1944," May said.
As the sun rose that morning, not one of the thousands of men arriving in Normandy "knew whether they would still be alive when the sun set once again," she said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed those who "took a gamble the world had never seen before."
Speaking at Juno Beach where 14,000 Canadians rushed ashore, Trudeau lauded the resulting world order including the United Nations and NATO that have helped preserve peace.
But postwar tensions were evident. Not invited to the remembrance was Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had been present for the 70th commemoration of D-Day.
On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was a "gift of history" that she was able to participate in the ceremony on Britain's southern coast. Some 22,000 German soldiers are among those buried around Normandy.
After the speeches Thursday, Trump, joined by Macron, and their wives, Melania Trump and Brigitte Macron, walked to an observation point overlooking Omaha Beach, as artillery cannons fired a 21-gun salute.
A guide pointed out the waves of the assault on a map, before the leaders turned to gaze at the sea, now quiet but for a single warship keeping watch.
Overhead, vintage U.S. warplanes rumbled past, while advanced fighter jets streaked through the skies, trailing red, white and blue contrails. The planes flew in "missing man formation," in which they fly together, before one abruptly pulls out of the formation and climbs to signify a fallen warrior.
Both presidents were smiling Thursday, and seemed at ease as they embraced during the ceremony and toured the grounds with their wives.
"The relationship is outstanding," Trump said, speaking to reporters at his meeting with Macron in Caen. "The relationship we've had together has been terrific."
Trump reflected on the day's commemoration as he sat with Macron, saying he was struck by the high death toll as the initial waves of troops came ashore.
"It's a lot of courage, and a lot of heartbreak, but an incredible victory," Trump said.
The cemetery contains grave markers for more than 9,300 American servicemen. Trump noted that each marker had been adopted by a French family and that people come from all over France to "look after our boys."
"Today America embraces the French people and thanks you for honoring our beloved war dead," he said.
Information for this article was contributed by Anne Gearan, Toluse Olorunnipa and James McAuley of The Washington Post; by Mark Landler and Maggie Haberman of The New York Times; and by Jonathan Lemire, Kevin Freking, Deb Riechmann, Darlene Superville, Bill Barrow, Raf Casert, John Leicester, Elaine Ganley, Sylvie Corbet, Alex Turnbull, Milos Krivokapic and Adam Pemble of The Associated Press.
A Section on 06/07/2019