Current:Home > InvestA mass parachute jump over Normandy kicks off commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day -NextFrontier Capital
A mass parachute jump over Normandy kicks off commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day
View
Date:2025-04-25 09:54:46
CARENTAN-LES-MARAIS, France (AP) — Parachutists jumping from World War II-era planes hurled themselves Sunday into now peaceful Normandy skies where war once raged, heralding a week of ceremonies for the fast-disappearing generation of Allied troops who fought from D-Day beaches 80 years ago to Adolf Hitler’s fall, helping free Europe of his tyranny.
All along the Normandy coastline — where then-young soldiers from across the United States, Britain, Canada and other Allied nations waded ashore through hails of fire on five beaches on June 6, 1944 — French officials, grateful Normandy survivors and other admirers are saying “merci” but also goodbye.
The ever-dwindling number of veterans in their late nineties and older who are coming back to remember fallen friends and their history-changing exploits are the last.
Part of the purpose of fireworks shows, parachute jumps, solemn commemorations and ceremonies that world leaders will attend this week is to pass the baton of remembrance to the current generations now seeing war again in Europe, in Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British royals are among the VIPs that France is expecting for the D-Day events.
On Sunday, three C-47 transport planes, a workhorse of the war, dropped three long strings of jumpers, their round chutes mushrooming open in the blue skies with puffy white clouds, to whoops from the huge crowd that was regaled by tunes from Glenn Miller and Edith Piaf as they waited.
The planes looped around and dropped another three sticks of jumpers. Some of the loudest applause from the crowd arose when a startled deer pounced from the undergrowth as the jumpers were landing and sprinted across the landing zone.
After a final pass to drop two last jumpers, the planes then roared overhead in close formation and disappeared over the horizon.
Dozens of World War II veterans are converging on France to revisit old memories, make new ones, and hammer home a message that survivors of D-Day and the ensuing Battle of Normandy, and of other World War II theaters, have repeated time and time again — that war is hell.
“Seven thousand of my marine buddies were killed. Twenty thousand shot up, wounded, put on ships, buried at sea,” said Don Graves, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Iwo Jima in the Pacific theater.
“I want the younger people, the younger generation here to know what we did,” said Graves, part of a group of more than 60 World War II veterans who flew into Paris on Saturday.
The youngest veteran in the group is 96 and the most senior 107, according to their carrier from Dallas, American Airlines.
“We did our job and we came home and that’s it. We never talked about it I think. For 70 years I didn’t talk about it,” said another of the veterans, Ralph Goldsticker, a U.S. Air Force captain who served in the 452nd Bomb Group.
Of the D-Day landings, he recalled seeing from his aircraft “a big, big chunk of the beach with thousands of vessels,” and spoke of bombing raids against German strongholds and routes that German forces might otherwise have used to rush in reinforcements to push the invasion back into the sea.
“I dropped my first bomb at 06:58 a.m. in a heavy gun placement,” he said. “We went back home, we landed at 09:30. We reloaded.”
___
Associated Press writer Jeffrey Schaeffer in Paris contributed to this report.
veryGood! (812)
Related
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Grand Ole Opry Responds to Backlash Over Elle King's Dolly Parton Tribute Performance
- Trump celebrates DeSantis’ decision to drop out, ending a bitter feud that defined the 2024 campaign
- Packers vs. 49ers highlights: Brock Purdy comes through with late rally
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Nick Dunlap becomes first amateur to win a PGA Tour event in 33 years at American Express
- I Look Like I Got Much More Sleep Than I Actually Did Thanks to This Under Eye Balm
- Iran’s foreign minister will visit Pakistan next week after tit-for-tat airstrikes
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Iranian soldier kills 5 comrades in southeastern city where IS attack killed dozens, state TV says
Ranking
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- Kelce scores twice and Chiefs beat Bills 27-24 to advance to face Ravens in AFC championship
- Lions vs. Bucs highlights: How Detroit topped Tampa Bay to reach NFC championship game
- Ohio State adds 2024 5-star quarterback Julian Sayin through transfer portal from Alabama
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- A temple to one of Hinduism’s holiest deities is opening in Ayodhya, India. Here’s what it means
- Democrats believe abortion will motivate voters in 2024. Will it be enough?
- Two opposition leaders in Senegal are excluded from the final list of presidential candidates
Recommendation
Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
Woman accused of killing pro-war blogger in café bomb attack faces 28 years in Russian prison
Texas coach Rodney Terry apologizes for rant over 'Horns Down' gestures
Sarah, the Duchess of York, diagnosed with malignant melanoma found during breast cancer treatment
SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
Looking to eat more protein? Consider adding chicken to your diet. Here's why.
How to Watch the 2024 Oscar Nominations Announcement
Burton Wilde: Operational Strategies in a Bull Stock Market.