Leaders and veterans commemorate D-Day 82nd anniversary

Allied leaders, military officials, and a dwindling number of veterans gathered in Normandy, France, on Saturday to commemorate the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings. The ceremonies honored the nearly 160,000 troops who launched Operation Overlord on June 6, 1944, in the largest seaborne invasion in history, a pivotal operation to liberate Western Europe from Nazi occupation.

Commemorative events were held at several locations, including the British Normandy Memorial in Langrune-sur-Mer and the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. Senior officials in attendance included U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, and UK Defence Secretary John Healey. They were joined by a small group of World War II veterans, with only six confirmed to have made the journey this year.

In his remarks, Defense Secretary Hegseth paid tribute to the servicemen who sacrificed their lives, stating they "carried the hopes and prayers of a free world." He noted they crossed an ocean to fight on an unfamiliar continent for people they did not know, and alongside allies from Great Britain, Canada,...