King Charles III pays tribute to D-Day fallen soldiers, veterans in NW France

By Nur Asena Erturk

King Charles III on Thursday paid tribute to the fallen soldiers and the veterans of the D-Day and the Battle of Normandy in northwestern France.

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a binational ceremony with King Charles at the British Normandy Memorial in the town of Ver-sur-Mer.

“Quality is so characteristic of that remarkable wartime generation, very many of them never came home. They lost their lives on the D-Day landing grounds or in the many battles that followed,” the king said in his speech.

“We recall the lesson that comes to us again and again across the decades, free nations will stand together to oppose tyranny,” he added.

King Charles expressed his pride in having “a permanent national memorial in Normandy by which to remember the more than 22,000 service personnel in British units who gave their lives” during the landings and the battles.

“This vital start to the liberation of Europe was a vast allied effort: American, British, Canadian, French, and Polish formations fought here in Normandy,” the king noted, and prayed “such sacrifice need never be made again.”

President Macron, for his part, hailed the memory of the British soldiers.

He also addressed veteran Christian Lamb, who took part in the planning and conduct of the D-Day from London as a Wren officer.

“You were one of those heroes in the shadows, I would say,” Macron said, awarding her the Legion of Honor, the country's highest award.

“France will never forget the British troops who landed on D-Day,” he added.

Macron will hold a second special binational ceremony with US President Joe Biden, and there will be a third international ceremony on Omaha Beach.

- D-Day

On June 6, 1944, Allied forces stormed Omaha Beach to defeat Nazi forces who had taken hold of many towns and villages in the northern region. Some 160,000 troops in 7,000 boats landed there, as well as on the nearby beaches of Utah, Juno, Sword, and Gold, as they were dubbed in the Allies’ plans.

Known officially as the Normandy Invasion, it left 4,414 troops killed on that day, including over 2,500 Americans, and some 5,000 wounded. A total of 9,843 troops from the US, Britain, and Canada were killed in action on June 6 and in the few days thereafter.

German troops were ready for the invasion, however, with guns placed at strategic high points around the nearly 10-kilometer (6-mile) beach as the forces landed. The ocean waters, as well as the beach, were also heavily mined by the Germans.