Men who stormed Normandy’s shore 70 years ago joined world leaders Friday in paying tribute to the 150,000 Allied troops who risked and lost their lives in the D-Day landings in Nazi-occupied France, in a day of international commemorations of history’s biggest amphibious invasion.
They are honouring the troops and civilians who fell in mighty battles that helped bring Europe peace and unity — just as bloodshed in Ukraine is posing new challenges to European security and threatening a new East-West divide.
On June 6, 1944, about 150,000 troops stormed the beaches of France in the epic D-Day invasion that proved pivotal to the Allied war effort.
I am trying to remember the day ... I was in Junior High School, but I think school was out for the Summer. I think, I vaguely remember listening to the radio, and hearing some comments from observers ... not as big as V-E or V-J Day. Now, we would have watched it all live, on TV, and one network probably would have had cameras on the beach to get them coming ashore. I remember some of the anticipation of the day, and some elation when it finally happened, but not a lot more.
Edward R. Murrow and Eric Sevareid I remember hearing on the news. I think the around our house was it was a big event, but we knew the worse was yet to come.
