World Leaders Honor D-Day Veterans-- Part 6: I'm Not A Hero. I Served With Men Who Were"

The crowd beyond the security barriers loved the planes but loved the veterans even more.  Whenever their images came up on the bug screen, the people cheered loudly.

"What happened to me is not important.  I'm not a hero.  I served with men who were," said Les Hammond, 94, who landed at Juno Beach with the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers.  "I'm very lucky I'm a survivor."

A Moving Ceremony.

World Leaders Honor D-Day Veterans-- Part 5: In Their Own Words and a Fly-By

President Trump read a prayer that President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered in a radio address on June 6, 1944, extolling the "mighty endeavor" Allied troops were engaged in.

British Prime Minister Theresa May read a letter written by Captain Norman Skinner of the Royal Army service Corps to his wife Gladys, on June 3, 1944, a few days before the invasion.  he was killed the day after D-Day.

"Although I would give anything to be back with you, I have not yet had any wish at all to back down from the job we have to do," he wrote.

French President Emmanuel Macron read from a letter sent by a young resistance fighter, Henri Fertet, before he was executed at the age of 16.

"I am going to die for my country.  I want France to be free and the French to be happy."

The ceremony ended with singer Sheridan Smith performing the wartime hit "We'll Meet Again," as many of the veterans sang along.

Then WW II Spitfire and Hurricane fighter plans, modern-day Typhoons and the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows aerobatic unit swooped over the dignitaries and crows of spectators.

World Leaders Honor D-Day Veterans-- Part 4: Germany There, But Not Russia

D-Day saw more than 150,000 Allied troops land on the beaches of Normandy in northwest France on June 6, 1944, carried by 7,000 ships and boats.  The Battle of Normandy, codenamed Operation Overlord, was a turning point in the war and helped bring about Nazi Germany's defeat in May 1945.

Wednesday's ceremony brought together presidents, prime ministers and other representatives of more than a dozen countries that fought with the Allies in Normandy.

The leader of the country that was the enemy in the invasion in 1944, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, also attended -- a symbol of Europe's postwar reconciliation and transformation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who attended the 70th anniversary commemorations in France has not been invited.  Russia (then the Soviet Union) was not involved in D-Day but was instrumental in defeating the Germans on the Eastern Front.

The ceremony sought to take people back in time, with world leaders reading the words of participants in the event.

World Leaders Honor D-Day Veterans-- Part 3: Two Days of Observances

Mixing history lesson, entertainment and remembrance, the ceremony in Portsmouth was a large-scale spectacle involving troops, dancers and martial bands, culminating in a military fly-past.  But even with all that as well as an array of world leaders, the real stars of the show were the the elderly veterans who said they were surprised by all the attention.  They said they were just doing their jobs.

"I was just a small part in a very big machine," said John Jenkins, 99, a veteran from Portsmouth, who received a standing ovation as he addressed the event.

"You never forget your comrades because we were all in it together," he said.  "It is right that the courage and sacrifice of so many is being honored 75 years on.  We must never forget."

The event, which kicked off two days of D-Day anniversary observances, paid tribute to the troops who shaped history during the dangerous mission to reach beachheads and fight in German-occupied France.

World Leaders Honor D-Day Veterans-- Part 2: The Queen's Remarks

Queen Elizabeth II went on to say:  "The heroism, courage and sacrifice of those who lost their lives will never be forgotten.  It is with humility and pleasure, on behalf of the entire country -- indeed the whole free world -- that I say to you all, thank you."

Several hundred World War II veterans attended the ceremony in Portsmouth, the English port city from where many of the troops embarked for Normandy on June 5, 1944.

Many will recreate the journey. with less danger and more comfort, by crossing the Channel by ship to Normandy overnight.  They will attend commemorations Thursday in Bayeux, the first major town liberated by Allied troops after D-Day.

World Leaders Honor D-Day Veterans-- Part 1: "The Wartime Generation - My Generation - Is Resilient"

From the June 6, 2019, Chicago Tribune by Danica Kirka and Jill Lawless, AP.

Queen Elizabeth II and world leaders, including President Trump gathered Wednesday on the south coast of England to honor the troops who risked and sacrificed their lives 75 years ago on D-Day.  It was a triumphant turning point of World War II

Across the English Channel, Allied paratroopers dropped into northwestern France, scaled cliffs by Normandy beaches and charged ashore this day.

It is exceedingly sad that the number of veterans who were there and who fought in the war is dwindling so fast.  Several hundred men who took part in D-Day were there.  All are now in their nineties.  The Queen herself is now 93 years old and a member of that Greatest Generation.

She served as an army mechanic during the war and said that when she attended the 60th anniversary event many thought it might be the last time it was held  "But the wartime generation -- my generation -- is resilient,"  she said.

D-Day Today

In honor of the valiant bravery of our Greatest Generation storming ashore at Normandy 72 years ago today, Bob Stroud did his Ten at Ten on D-Day.  It was bands beginning with the letter "D."  See if you can name them groups.

TEN AT TEN: D-DAY

WELCOME TO THE BOOMTOWN--
WOMAN FROM TOKYO--
BRINGING ON THE HEARTACHE--

BELL BOTTOM BLUES--
SO FAR AWAY--
SUNSHINE SUPERMAN--
LISTEN TO THE MUSIC--

LOVE HER MADLY--
RIGHT PLACE, WRONG TIME--
LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN--

See If You Can Name the Groups.  Answers Below.

David + David
Deep Purple
Def Leppard

Derek & the Dominos
Dire Straits
Donovan
Doobie Brothers

Doors
Dr. John
Dream Academy

To The Greatest Generation In One Of Its greatest Feats.

D-Day Makes Chicago Tribune Front Page

The front page of the Chicago Tribune this morning had and article on D-Day "For D-Day vets, history still vivid" by Mitch Smith.

"Numbers dwindling, but Chicago-area participants recall massive invasion at Normandy that turned tide against Nazis 70 years ago."

There is a big picture of John Kraeger, 89, of Chicago, who was part of a B-24 crew during the D-Day assault on Normandy, France, in 1944.  He is wearing what appears to be his flight jacket with a whole lot of white bombs on a red background, probably indication bombing missions he was on during the war.

Then, below that, there is a black-and-white photo of him wearing the same jacket along with his bomber crew.  He said that the attack was chaotic.  "There (were ) planes going everyplace, and we could see the ships down in the channel firing behind the invasion."

One Gigantic Undertaking 70 Years Ago.

Top 35 British Invasion Hits-- Part 3: Saluting Another Invasion 70 Years Ago

And just 20 years before the Beatles led that British Invasion in 1964, there were many American in Britain preparing for an invasion of their own across the English Channel on this thing called D-Day.  That was 70 years ago today.  A big salute to them all.

10.  BAD TO ME--  Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas
9.  LITTLE CHILDREN--Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas
8.  DOWNTOWN--  Petula Clark  (Oops, got that tune in my head now.)
7.  DAYTRIPPER--  Beatles
6.  WE CAN WORK IT OUT--  Beatles

5.  HELP!--  Beatles
4.  I'M INTO SOMETHING GOOD--  Herman's Hermits (What, no "Henry the Eighth?")
3.  SHE'S NOT THERE--  Zombies
2.  WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL--  New Vaudeville Band  (Rats, got this one in my head right now, especially that got with the weird voice.)
1.  I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND--  Beatles

I'm not sure how Bob Stroud put this list together.  Most likely, he used the WLS surveys since so many of the songs listed next to each other were two-sided hits.

And Again, Thank You World War II Veterans.  --RoadDog