Biden honors World War II veterans on 80th anniversary of Normandy landings, pledges solidarity with NATO in face of new threats to democracy

President Biden and key US allies travelled to Normandy on Thursday to mark the 80th anniversary of the US-led coalition invasion. D-Day Invasion Nazi-occupied France. This daring air and sea invasion marked the beginning of the end of World War II, leading to the defeat of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi German forces in Europe less than a year later.

Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came together to commemorate the Western allies’ most significant victory in the war and the largest naval invasion in history. Biden is in France through the weekend for D-Day anniversary ceremonies and is due to meet with leaders of key allies during his visit.

“What our allies accomplished here 80 years ago was far greater than we could have accomplished on our own,” Biden said in his speech Thursday. “Together, we won the war.”

“The men and women who fought here became heroes. They were given a daring mission, knowing there was a good chance they would die. But they knew without a doubt what was worth fighting for, worth dying for. Freedom. Democracy. America. Then, now, and always.”

President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden met with World War II veterans one-on-one on Thursday ahead of a memorial ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery and presented them with coins commemorating the anniversary of the Normandy landings. President Biden chatted with the veterans, joking around and asking them about their home countries, thanking them for their service and calling them the greatest generation ever.

The president spoke at a ceremony Thursday attended by lawmakers from both parties, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi.

“On behalf of the American people and our Commander in Chief, it is the greatest honor for me to salute you here in Normandy. All of you. God loves you,” Biden told World War II veterans in the audience.

“What has happened here is the largest and most complex operation in history,” the US president said, quoting British World War II leader Winston Churchill, adding that the whole world awaited the outcome of “the great struggle to free Europe from tyranny.”

“The estimate was that 80 percent of them would be killed within hours. That was the estimate. But they were brave, they were resolute,” Biden said of the tens of thousands of American troops who poured onto the beaches of Normandy that day, charging into gun and mortar fire, and said they got the job done.

“The soldiers who fought here became heroes not because they were the strongest or the toughest or the bravest — though those are certainly true — but because they were given a daring mission, and they all knew the possibility of dying was real,” Biden said. “But they did it anyway. They knew without a doubt that there were things worth fighting for, things worth dying for. Freedom is worth it. Democracy is worth it. America is worth it. The world is worth it. Always was, always will be.”

The president then Russia’s war in Ukraine continuesHe warned that today’s “tyrants” were closely watching the cracks in the transatlantic NATO defence alliance that grew out of the Allied powers of World War II, and said democracy was “more endangered now than at any time since the Second World War”.

Biden described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the act of a “tyrant seeking domination” and vowed that the United States and its European partners “will not bow down.”

“We cannot give in to tyrants – it is completely unthinkable. If we do, freedom will be suppressed and the whole of Europe will be threatened,” he said.

The Bidens later joined other international leaders at Omaha Beach for an international service commemorating the operation, where speakers read letters from those who landed on the beach. Among the world leaders in attendance on Thursday was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who received a warm welcome from veterans of the Normandy landings.

In an emotional moment, a Normandy landings veteran called Zelenskiy “the savior of the people” and “our hero” and kissed his hand, as the crowd erupted in cheers and applause.

“No, you are our heroes,” Zelenskiy told the men.

“I will pray for you,” the man told President Zelenskyy.

D-Day, June 6, 1944, was code-named Overlord and saw five naval assault divisions attack the coast of Normandy, France. The invasion included 7,000 ships and landing craft operated by more than 195,000 naval personnel. More than 130,000 soldiers from the United States, Great Britain, and their allies landed on the beaches. Many more followed, and their efforts led to the defeat of the German Nazi forces.

Biden will speak on Friday from the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, highlighting the men who scaled the cliffs 80 years ago, democracy and the “dangers of isolationism,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. In his speech, the president will chart the course from World War II to the formation of NATO to today, when war is once again plaguing Europe, Sullivan said.

Celebrations will continue on Saturday when Biden will take part in a parade to the Elysee Palace, and on Sunday the president will lay a wreath at the Aisne-Marne American Military Cemetery, where World War I veterans are buried.

Biden spoke with Zelensky on Friday as Ukraine continues to suffer under a Russian onslaught.

Sullivan said the president will hold “lengthy consultations” with Macron on a wide range of issues, including the Middle East, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, technology and clean energy. Macron and Biden are scheduled to hold a joint press conference on Saturday, and Macron will host a state dinner for the presidential and first lady on Saturday.

In 2018, then-President Donald Trump canceled a visit to mark the anniversary of the Normandy landings while in Paris, citing bad weather, a move that drew heavy criticism.

Christine Brown contributed to this report