D-Day – latest: Veteran warns ‘UK on a knife edge’ as Biden says world ‘won’t surrender’ at 80th anniversary
Charles and Camilla are among those paying tribute to fallen soldiers alongside prime minister Rishi Sunak, French president Emmanuel Macron and US president Joe Biden
The state of Britain’s military is leaving the UK “on a knife edge” facing the growing prospect of war, a D-Day veteran has warned on the 80th anniversary of the landings marking the start of Europe’s liberation from the Nazis.
King Charles, Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak were among those in attendance in Ver-sur-Mer, France, to pay tribute on Thursday to the sacrifice of those fallen soldiers 80 years ago.
The US president promised the 50 countries standing with Ukraine “will not walk away” or “surrender to the bullies”, as he addressed the crowds, adding: “Make no mistake the autocrats of the world are watching closely to see what happens in Ukraine ... To surrender to bullies, to bow down to dictators is simply unthinkable.”
He added: “History tells us freedom is not free. You want to know the price of freedom come here to Normandy to look.”
And Les Budding, a former Royal Marine who served on a landing craft charged with providing covering fire for the first wave of troops who stormed Sword Beach, warne: “For many, this is the most dangerous time we have lived through ... I am worried about the future.”
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Royals and world leaders join veterans in Normandy for 80th anniversary of D-Day
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Queen emotional as D-Day veteran experiences recalled
The Queen was seen wiping her eye and appeared emotional as the memories of a D-Day veteran were read out by actor Martin Freedman.
The Office star read the words of Joe Mines, a D-Day veteran who landed on Gold Beach 80 years ago and was present at the commemorative event held in Normandy today.
In the message read by the actor, Mr Mines said he had come back “to pay my respect to those who didn’t make it”.
Mr Mines smiled and waved to applause from the audience as Mr Freeman concluded his speech and sat down next to the veteran.
Camilla dabbed her eye before smiling with the King as Mr Mines waved his arms in the air.
Forgotten heroes: The D-Day women who changed the course of history
As we mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings on 6 June 1944, Guy Walters shines a light on the forgotten heroines who helped turn the Second World War in the Allies’ favour:
Forgotten heroes: The D-Day women who changed the course of history
Watch: US Navy Seals re-enact Utah Beach D-Day landing on 80th anniversary
Hundreds of people, some in Second World War-era uniforms, arrived before dawn to stretch out across the now peaceful sands of Utah Beach, one of the five Allied landing zones on D-Day where troops waded into cold seas through hails of fire exactly 80 years ago.
They watched as US Navy Seals re-enacted the landing of the 2nd Naval Beach Battalion alongside descendants of soldiers who landed on the beach on 6 June 1944.
The Allied invasion of Normandy led to the defeat of the Nazis and the end of WW2.
As dawn broke 80 years ago, Allied forces started bombing German coastal defences and shortly after that vessels began putting troops ashore on five codenamed beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.
US Navy Seals re-enact Utah Beach D-Day landing on 80th anniversary
King Charles and Camilla arrive in Normandy
King Charles has arrived at a national commemorative event in Normandy marking the 80th anniversary of D-day.
The King and Queen are also scheduled to pay tribute to fallen soldiers at the event in Ver-sur-Mer, along with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Schoolchildren presented veterans attending the UK’s national commemoration event with white roses while cadets waved flags.
At the same time, an RAF band performed a marching display while Dakota military transport aircraft, widely used by the Allies during the Second World War, flew overhead.
Pictured: US president Biden arrives in Normandy
US president Joe Biden and US first lady Jill Biden have arrived in Normandy to to mark the 80th anniversary of the June 6, 1944 D-Day landings.
Mr Biden will be joined by other world leaders including French president Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and German chancellor Olaf Scholz.
However Russian president Vladimir Putin has not been invited due to the Kremlin’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
‘We owe you everything’: Sunak pays tribute to veterans
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told D-Day veterans “we owe you everything” as he addressed the audience at the UK’s national commemoration event in Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
He said: “Each of you who contributed that day - sailor, soldier, aviator, civilian - whether you fought on the beaches, or parachuted from the skies, or flew fighters or gliders, whether you were an engineer or a radio operator or an intelligence officer, your actions freed a continent and built a better world.
“You risked everything and we owe you everything.
“We cannot possibly hope to repay that debt but we can and we must pledge never to forget.
He said veterans had “taught generations of young people about the horrors of war”, adding: “Yet with each passing year, it falls now to those of us who listened in awe to your stories to pass them on to our own children and grandchildren.
“Because only by remembering can we make certain that the cause you fought for, that so many of your friends and colleagues died for, that great cause of freedom, peace and democracy, will never be taken for granted.”
Watch live view of beaches in Normandy on 80th D-Day anniversary
In pictures: A military piper comes into shore in Normandy
Military piper begins commemorations in Normandy on 80th anniversary of D-Day
A military piper has begun commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy by playing a lament at sea at the exact moment of the beach invasion in 1944.
Royals and world leaders are set to gather with veterans in the northern French region to mark the occasion on Thursday.
At Gold Beach in Arromanches, Major Trevor Macey-Lillie paid tribute to fallen veterans, who led the biggest seaborne invasion in military history, by playing Highland Laddie as he came ashore.
The piece was also to remember a lone piper who played in the Normandy landings and was never shot at.
Major Macey-Lillie began in a landing craft utility before being driven up the beach in a DUKW amphibious vehicle.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was spotted coming down to Gold Beach ahead of the tribute.
Also on Thursday, the King and Queen will pay tribute to fallen soldiers at the UK’s national commemoration event at the British Normandy Memorial, in Ver-sur-Mer, along with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
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