- Alan Taylor
- June 6, 2024
- 28 Photos
- In Focus
For the past week, sites in the United Kingdom and France have been hosting a number of events leading up to today, the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings of June 6, 1944. Veterans, families, dignitaries, and visitors have gathered at former battlefields and cemeteries to commemorate the Allied landings on the beaches of Normandy, which turned the tide in World War II and led to the liberation of occupied France and the defeat of Nazi Germany. Gathered here are images of some of these events, and of some of the few remaining veterans who took part in that costly invasion eight decades ago.
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Bernard Morgan, 100, a veteran of the British Royal Air Force, visits war graves in Bayeux, France, on June 5, 2024, ahead of the Royal British Legion Service’s plans to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day. #
Aaron Chown / Getty
Bystanders in WWII-era military attire look on prior to a joint U.S. and French amphibious-landing-operation showcase, on June 4, 2024, at Omaha Beach in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer in northwestern France, ahead of D-Day commemorations. #
Loic Venance / AFP / Getty
The sun rises over a field of wild poppies in Arromanches-les-Bains, France, on June 3, 2024. #
Christopher Furlong / Getty
World War II reenactors pose for a photograph beside a C-47—an aircraft that carried paratroopers over drop zones in Normandy, France—at England’s North Weald Airfield, east of London, on May 31, 2024. #
Henry Nicholls / AFP / Getty
American and Belgian paratroopers jump from a Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft as it flies over Normandy, France, on June 5, 2024, as part of D-Day commemorations. #
Loic Venance / AFP / Getty
Paratroopers from the British, Belgian, Canadian, and U.S. militaries take part in a parachute drop over the fields of Sannerville, France, on June 5, 2024, as they reenact the D-Day landings of 80 years ago. #
Christopher Furlong / Getty
Enthusiasts wearing replica WWII military attire ride atop a WWII-era military truck in Saint-Côme-du-Mont, France, on June 4, 2024. #
Miguel Medina / AFP / Getty
A French Marine paratrooper guides a parachute canopy past the church of Sainte-Mère-Église, France, on June 5, 2024. A mannequin effigy of U.S. Army 82nd Airborne paratrooper John Steele hangs from the church steeple; his parachute became entangled on the structure as he landed on D-Day in the early hours of June 6, 1944. He was taken prisoner by German troops but later escaped. #
Miguel Medina / AFP / Getty
Reenactors ride vintage U.S. Army Harley-Davidson motorbikes at Utah Beach near Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, in Normandy, France, on June 4, 2024. #
Daniel Cole / AP
People on the shore observe fireworks launched from Sword Beach, as part of the 80th D-Day anniversary in Luc-sur-Mer, Normandy, on June 1, 2024. #
Lou Benoist / AFP / Getty
Illuminated graves at the war cemetery in Bayeux, France, photographed on June 5, 2024 #
Loic Venance / AFP / Getty
The sun sets behind the “Standing with Giants” installation displayed at the British Normandy Memorial near Ver-sur-Mer, France, on June 2, 2024, before the 80th D-Day anniversary. #
Christopher Furlong / Getty
Veteran Donald Jones returns on June 4, 2024, to Sword Beach, in Normandy, France, where he landed on D-Day. #
Jordan Pettitt / Getty
U.S. veteran Henry Armstrong shakes hands with onlookers during a veterans’ parade in the streets of Sainte-Mère-Église, France, on June 5, 2024. #
Miguel Medina / AFP / Getty
Brigadier General Enoch “Woody” Woodhouse, a U.S. World War II veteran and a Tuskegee Airman, visits the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, on June 4, 2024. #
Virginia Mayo / AP
French troops disembark from a U.S. landing craft during a joint U.S. and French amphibious-landing-operation showcase on June 4, 2024, at Omaha Beach in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, France. #
Loic Venance / AFP / Getty
U.S. veteran Marty Rodriguez salutes ahead of a veterans’ parade in the town center of Sainte-Mère-Église, France, on June 5, 2024. #
Miguel Medina / AFP / Getty
Members of the public watch as the Red Arrows—the British Royal Air Force’s aerobatic team—perform a flypast above HMS St Albans, a Type 23 frigate, during a U.K. commemorative event in Southsea, England, on June 5, 2024, to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in France in 1944. #
Henry Nicholls / AFP / Getty
A crowd watches a parachute drop in Sainte-Mère-Église, Normandy, on June 5, 2024. #
Jeremias Gonzalez / AP
French first lady Brigitte Macron, French President Emmanuel Macron, U.S. President Joe Biden, and U.S. first lady Jill Biden walk on stage during ceremonies on June 6, 2024, in Normandy, to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day. #
Evan Vucci / AP
Veterans attend the Canadian commemorative ceremony at the Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-sur-Mer, on the northern coast of France, on June 6, 2024. #
Jordan Pettitt / AFP / Getty
Crowds applaud British veteran Bernard Morgan, age 100, as he salutes them during a parade with a Royal Guard of Honour on June 6, 2024, in Arromanches-les-Bains, France. #
Christopher Furlong / Getty
Attendees wait for the start of the U.S. ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Allied landings at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, on June 6, 2024. #
Daniel Cole / AFP / Getty
U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. first lady Jill Biden greet a World War II veteran during ceremonies to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, on June 6, 2024, in Normandy, France. #
Evan Vucci / AP
A detail of a sculpture is seen in the D-Day 75 Garden, which stands near Gold Beach in Arromanches-les-Bains, France, on June 3, 2024. #
Christopher Furlong / Getty
An image of a Spitfire aircraft is seen on June 5, 2024, during a D-Day-themed drone display above the Portsmouth Naval Memorial at Southsea Common in Portsmouth, England, coinciding with illuminations held during a vigil at Bayeux War Cemetery in Normandy, France. #
Leon Neal / Getty
A WWII-memorial monument stands in Bordeaux, France, as seen on June 4, 2024, ahead of D-Day commemorations. #
Philippe Lopez / AFP / Getty
U.S. Air Force Captain Ryan Knapp, a "living historian," kneels at the grave of Sergeant Joseph Surace of the 29th Infantry Division, who was killed in combat on D-Day. Knapp was photographed on June 4, 2024, at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. Knapp placed letters written by sixth-grade students at the headstones of soldiers who are buried at the cemetery. #
Win McNamee / Getty
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