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Obama attends 65th Anniversary of D-Day in Normandy
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Supreme Allied Commander U.S. Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower speaks with 101st Airborne Division paratroopers before they board planes and gliders to take part in a parachute assault into Normandy as part of the Allied Invasion of Europe on "D-Day," June 6, 1944.
American president Barack Obama will be among those visiting Normandy this weekend to commemorate the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, when Allied soldiers stormed the 50 miles of Normandy beaches during World War II. Obama will visit the American Cemetery in Colleville sur Mer, to pay a tribute to the 160,000 young men who splashed though the surf on that day, supported by 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft, then fought their way across Europe; nearly 10,000 soldiers died on D-Day.
Soldiers landing on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Omaha Beach, Sword beach, Utah Beach, Juno and Gold are names marked forever by the bold invasion that led to the liberation of France and Europe. 25 simultaneous firework displays from one end of the landing beaches (Saint Marie du mont to Merville Franceville, over 80 km) will light the skies on this Sunday, June 5, illuminating the coast as a huge "thank you" from the Normans. Historic sites and museums taking part in the illumination will provide entertainment during the evening, and the artificial harbor of Arromanches, Port Winston, will be lit up for the first time.
The once-in-a-lifetime show will be followed by a glider demonstration and parachute drop. Bayeux, the first French city to be liberated by the Allies, will host a World War II vehicle procession on June 7, while various other events, concerts and entertainment will take place around Normandy.
To find out more about the anniversary celebrations, log on www.normandiememoire.com.
Learn more about D-Day:
'The extensive U.S. Army D-Day Web site presents videos, audios, photos, maps, posters and more fascinating description of the entire military campaign.
For an eyewitness account of D-day at Sword Beach, go to the EyeWitness to History site: www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/dday.htm
You can also listen to a recording of a radio reporter aboard a destroyer stationed offshore of the Normandy invasion.
Click here to see D-Day sites on a 360° virtual visit.
D-Day and Normandy Tours:
Author Rick Steves gives excellent descriptions of D-Day day tours, monuments, and museums on his site, www.ricksteves.com.
D-Day Battle Tours is a popular and highly acclaimed company offering a variety of guided tours to American sector beaches, with British sectors to be included in the near future. On this Web site, you can also find out about the just-debuted DVD documentary, Americans on D-Day.
You can even take daytrips from Paris to the D-Day beaches, with a number of companies, including
Classic Walks Paris.
For more information: Normandy Tourism Board, www.normandie-tourisme.fr
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