(CNN, June 6, 2014) — U.S. President Barack Obama paid tribute Friday to the U.S. servicemen who “defied every danger” to pour onto the beaches of Normandy 70 years ago in defense of liberty.
His remarks at the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, which overlooks Omaha Beach where so many fell, are part of a series of solemn events to commemorate the D-Day landings.
Obama, who arrived flanked by French President Francois Hollande, shook hands with some elderly veterans before the presentation of colors and playing of the two countries’ national anthems.
Obama said he was honored to be there “to pay tribute to the men and women of a generation who defied every danger: among them, our veterans of D-Day.”
Lengthy applause rang out as the U.S. President said he was humbled by the presence of some of those veterans at the ceremony.
“Here, we don’t just commemorate victory, as proud of that victory as we are; we don’t just honor sacrifice, as grateful as the world is; we come to remember why America and our allies gave so much for the survival of liberty at this moment of maximum peril,” Obama said.
Their story should remain “seared into the memory of a future world,” he said.
“It was here, on these shores, that the tide was turned in that common struggle for freedom.
“What more powerful manifestation of America’s commitment to human freedom than the sight of wave after wave of young men boarding those boats to liberate people they’d never met?”
In his words, Hollande recalled how the calm beach below had become an “awful battlefield” on this day 70 years ago, the sea turning red with blood, and paid tribute to the courage of all those there.
The moving ceremony concluded with a 21-gun salute and the playing of “Taps,” as well as an overflight by military jets.
The cemetery, which sits on a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach and the English Channel, contains the graves of 9,387 U.S. servicemen, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings.
Omaha was the deadliest of the landing sites because German forces were able to fire from fortified positions on the cliffs above as the first waves of soldiers reached the shore.
Sword Beach
An international ceremony will be held later on Sword Beach in Ouistreham, Normandy.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among those taking part in the D-Day events — as are hundreds of World War II veterans.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is also present — the only living head of state who served in World War II, working as a mechanic and military truck driver in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service.
The D-Day landings, in which mainly British, U.S. and Canadian troops invaded Nazi-occupied France, were a turning point in World War II.
More than 156,000 troops crossed the English Channel during the D-Day invasion in on June 6, 1944. Nearly 10,000 Allied troops were killed or wounded.
Civilian cost
Earlier, Hollande spoke at a war memorial in the city of Caen, Normandy, at a ceremony to honor civilian victims paid tribute to all those killed in the conflict.
He recalled the “strength of heart and bravery” of those who helped to liberate France from Nazi Germany, as well as the many victims in Normandy — more of them civilians than soldiers.
While the war may be long over in Normandy, Hollande said, “The war is still here in this tumultuous, uncertain and sometimes threatening world — and in all wars it is civilians who pay a heavy price.”
The queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles took part in a ceremony at the Bayeux War Cemetery, the largest of the Commonwealth cemeteries in France.
A fireworks display was staged Thursday night along the Normandy coastline where the landings took place.
Diplomatic maneuvers
The run-up to the commemorations has been dominated by the current crisis in Ukraine, which has sparked the worst East-West tensions since the end of the Cold War.
Putin was excluded from a meeting of G7 leaders held this week in Brussels, Belgium, as part of measures to sanction Moscow over its annexation in March of Ukraine’s Crimea region.
While both Putin and Obama are attending the D-Day events, they have no scheduled meeting — although the U.S. President has said it’s likely their paths will cross.
Hollande dined separately with each of the two leaders Thursday evening.
The D-Day events may also bring Putin and Ukraine’s President-elect Petro Poroshenko face to face.
Asked in an interview with French television station TF1 if he would speak with Ukraine’s new leader, Putin said he will not “evade” Poroshenko or anyone else.
Poroshenko also did not exclude the possibility of a meeting.
At a news conference Thursday, Obama said the G7 nations were united in their support of Ukraine and urged Putin to take steps to deescalate the pro-Russia separatist unrest in the country’s East.
Putin “has a chance to get back into a lane of international law,” Obama said. But for this to happen, he said, Putin must take steps over the coming weeks that include engaging with Ukraine’s new President, stopping the flow of weapons over the border into Ukraine and ceasing Russian support for pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine.
Poroshenko, who was elected last month, is due to be sworn in on Saturday.
