World War II veterans returned to Normandy, France, on Monday to honor and celebrate the 78th anniversary of the allied invasion of Normandy as war in Europe rages once again.
Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was among those who visited the U.S. cemetery in Normandy to commemorate the anniversary. The cemetery holds 9,386 soldiers who died in the invasion or subsequent operations.
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For many veterans, the day is a mix of emotions, including sadness for those who died on June 6, 1944.
“The first thing I remember are the poor lads who didn’t come back,” British World War II veteran Peter Smoothy told the Associated Press. “It’s a long time ago now, nearly 80 years. … And here we are still living.”
“We’re thinking about all these poor lads who didn’t get off the beach that day, their last day, but they’re always in our minds,” he added.
Smoothy was part of the British Royal Navy that landed in Normandy.
On D-Day, Allied troops landed on the code-named Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword, and Gold beaches. On June 6, 4,414 Allied soldiers lost their lives, 2,501 of them Americans, and more than 5,000 were wounded.
U.S. D-Day veteran Charles Shay, now 97, said he was sad there is another war in Europe nearly 80 years after he arrived as an Army medic on Normandy’s beaches.
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“Ukraine is a very sad situation. I feel sorry for the people there, and I don’t know why this war had to come, but I think the human beings like to, I think they like to fight. I don’t know,” he said. “In 1944, I landed on these beaches, and we thought we’d bring peace to the world. But it’s not possible.”
Just under 240,000 World War II veterans in the United States are still alive as of September 2021, according to the National World War II Museum. However, that number is expected to fall to 100,000 in 2024. The youngest World War II veterans are now in their 90s.
