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| Obama honors D-Day sacrifices at Omaha Beach ceremony | Obama honors D-Day sacrifices at Omaha Beach ceremony |
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| COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France — President Obama on Friday honored a disappearing generation of American servicemen who rushed the shores of Normandy 70 years ago on D-Day in a daring and courageous act to liberate Europe, while promising a new generation of veterans that their sacrifices will never be forgotten. | COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France — President Obama on Friday honored a disappearing generation of American servicemen who rushed the shores of Normandy 70 years ago on D-Day in a daring and courageous act to liberate Europe, while promising a new generation of veterans that their sacrifices will never be forgotten. |
| Obama gathered with world leaders and dignitaries, including Queen Elizabeth II, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in northern France to commemorate the world’s largest amphibious invasion, a turning point in World War II. More than 150,000 American, British, Canadian and other Allied D-Day troops risked — or lost — their lives to begin reclaiming Nazi-occupied Western Europe that day. | Obama gathered with world leaders and dignitaries, including Queen Elizabeth II, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in northern France to commemorate the world’s largest amphibious invasion, a turning point in World War II. More than 150,000 American, British, Canadian and other Allied D-Day troops risked — or lost — their lives to begin reclaiming Nazi-occupied Western Europe that day. |
| The leaders came together as the crisis in Ukraine, the worst conflict between Russia and the West since the Cold War, cast a long shadow over the D-Day commemorations — offering a stark reminder that the long battle for democracy in Europe is not over. | The leaders came together as the crisis in Ukraine, the worst conflict between Russia and the West since the Cold War, cast a long shadow over the D-Day commemorations — offering a stark reminder that the long battle for democracy in Europe is not over. |
| “But America’s claim — our commitment — to liberty, our claim to equality, our claim to freedom and to the inherent dignity of every human being, that claim is written in the blood on these beaches, and it will endure for eternity,” Obama said on a stage at the cemetery and memorial here, on the bluffs overlooking Omaha Beach. | |
| And while the Ukrainian crisis was not the focus of attention, the D-Day ceremonies served as platform for small steps toward resolving it. | And while the Ukrainian crisis was not the focus of attention, the D-Day ceremonies served as platform for small steps toward resolving it. |
| At a luncheon hosted by French President François Hollande, Putin met briefly with Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko, a late invitee, and subsequently spoke privately for 10 to 15 minutes with Obama. The White House confirmed that the discussion between Obama and Putin took place but did not immediately provide details. | |
| U.S. officials have said Putin’s recognition of the Ukraine’s new government would be a positive first step toward rebuilding trust. Putin has not taken that step, but he also has not denounced Poroshenko’s May 25 election, and Friday’s encounter offered at least the possibility that the Ukrainian crisis might be easing. | |
| The brief meeting between Obama and Putin was their first since the crisis broke out earlier this year — and just two days after Obama, in Poland, said the Russian president “was harnessing dark tactics of the 20th century.” The two leaders have spoken several times on the phone, however, the White House has said. | |
| At the commemoration earlier in the day, with the English Channel rocking softly under clear, sunny skies, Obama left geopolitics out of his address to dozens of D-Day veterans and more than 14,000 other attendees. | |
| His tribute to the veterans — men who fudged their ages so they could go to war earlier, men who were told they were too uneducated to pilot a plane and so became paratroopers instead — was rich in history. Yet it was also striking because so few of the men who fought on D-Day — now all in their late 80s and early 90s — will be alive at the 75th celebration of the assault. | His tribute to the veterans — men who fudged their ages so they could go to war earlier, men who were told they were too uneducated to pilot a plane and so became paratroopers instead — was rich in history. Yet it was also striking because so few of the men who fought on D-Day — now all in their late 80s and early 90s — will be alive at the 75th celebration of the assault. |
| “Here, we don’t just commemorate victory, as proud of that victory as we are; we don’t just honor sacrifice, as grateful as the world is; we come to remember why America and our allies gave so much for the survival of liberty at its moment of maximum peril,” Obama said at the Normandy American Cemetery, where so many are buried. “And we come to tell the story of the men and women who did it, so that it remains seared into the memory of the future world.” | “Here, we don’t just commemorate victory, as proud of that victory as we are; we don’t just honor sacrifice, as grateful as the world is; we come to remember why America and our allies gave so much for the survival of liberty at its moment of maximum peril,” Obama said at the Normandy American Cemetery, where so many are buried. “And we come to tell the story of the men and women who did it, so that it remains seared into the memory of the future world.” |
| The D-Day invasion changed the course of history. It cracked Nazi dictator Adolph Hitler’s western front as Soviet troops made advances on the ground in the east. The amphibious invasion launched the weeks-long Battle of Normandy, which brought the Allies to Paris and liberated France from Nazi occupation. | The D-Day invasion changed the course of history. It cracked Nazi dictator Adolph Hitler’s western front as Soviet troops made advances on the ground in the east. The amphibious invasion launched the weeks-long Battle of Normandy, which brought the Allies to Paris and liberated France from Nazi occupation. |
| Recalling the stories of 90-year-old veterans who made it here to commemorate the day, Obama connected their sacrifices to those of another generation — “this 9/11 Generation of service members” — who also “chose to serve a cause that’s greater than self.” | Recalling the stories of 90-year-old veterans who made it here to commemorate the day, Obama connected their sacrifices to those of another generation — “this 9/11 Generation of service members” — who also “chose to serve a cause that’s greater than self.” |
| And in telling the stories of the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, he pledged that “future generations, whether 70 or 700 years hence, will gather at places like this to honor them — and to say that these were generations of men and women who proved once again that the United States of America is and will remain the greatest force for freedom the world has ever known.” | And in telling the stories of the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, he pledged that “future generations, whether 70 or 700 years hence, will gather at places like this to honor them — and to say that these were generations of men and women who proved once again that the United States of America is and will remain the greatest force for freedom the world has ever known.” |
| Obama declared June 6 a national remembrance day. | Obama declared June 6 a national remembrance day. |
| Obama last came here five years ago as a young president who had inherited two wars but who sought to end them and to inspire people across the world with a message of diplomacy and democracy. | Obama last came here five years ago as a young president who had inherited two wars but who sought to end them and to inspire people across the world with a message of diplomacy and democracy. |
| He returned Friday as a second-term president burdened at home by polarizing controversies over his stewardship of America’s armed forces as he ends the war in Afghanistan, his decision to return suspected terrorists to the Taliban in order to free the last American prisoner of war, and his competence in making sure that today’s veterans receive the care they deserve. | He returned Friday as a second-term president burdened at home by polarizing controversies over his stewardship of America’s armed forces as he ends the war in Afghanistan, his decision to return suspected terrorists to the Taliban in order to free the last American prisoner of war, and his competence in making sure that today’s veterans receive the care they deserve. |
| Obama spoke Friday as a president who has learned that diplomacy and democracy neither work nor come as easily as he may have hoped, as a president burdened abroad by a rising tide of authoritarianism. | Obama spoke Friday as a president who has learned that diplomacy and democracy neither work nor come as easily as he may have hoped, as a president burdened abroad by a rising tide of authoritarianism. |
| Obama’s remarks at Omaha Beach were the capstone to a week spent in Europe struggling to reassure the new democracies of Eastern Europe that he has their backs. Those democracies face a new foe in Russia, whose annexation of Crimea in March and actions to destabilize Ukraine have caused deep unrest in the region. | Obama’s remarks at Omaha Beach were the capstone to a week spent in Europe struggling to reassure the new democracies of Eastern Europe that he has their backs. Those democracies face a new foe in Russia, whose annexation of Crimea in March and actions to destabilize Ukraine have caused deep unrest in the region. |
| The president brought his personal stories to the moment, talking about his grandfather, Stanley Dunham, who served in Gen. George S. Patton’s army. In impromptu remarks, he said, “As I was landing on Marine One, I told my staff, I don’t think there’s a time where I miss my grandfather more, where I’d be more happy to have him here, than this day.” | The president brought his personal stories to the moment, talking about his grandfather, Stanley Dunham, who served in Gen. George S. Patton’s army. In impromptu remarks, he said, “As I was landing on Marine One, I told my staff, I don’t think there’s a time where I miss my grandfather more, where I’d be more happy to have him here, than this day.” |
| And he related his close bond with Army Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg, whom he first met in Normandy five years ago during the 65th anniversary of D-Day. Remsburg suffered severe injuries in Afghanistan, and Obama has checked up on him multiple times over the years. He featured him in this year’s State of the Union address. | And he related his close bond with Army Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg, whom he first met in Normandy five years ago during the 65th anniversary of D-Day. Remsburg suffered severe injuries in Afghanistan, and Obama has checked up on him multiple times over the years. He featured him in this year’s State of the Union address. |
| “Over the past five years, Cory has grown stronger, learning to speak again and stand again and walk again. And earlier this year, he jumped out of a plane again. The first words Cory said to me after his accident echoed those words first shouted all those years ago on this beach: ‘Rangers lead the way.’” | “Over the past five years, Cory has grown stronger, learning to speak again and stand again and walk again. And earlier this year, he jumped out of a plane again. The first words Cory said to me after his accident echoed those words first shouted all those years ago on this beach: ‘Rangers lead the way.’” |
| After their remarks, Obama and Hollande laid a wreath, stood for a 21-gun salute and watched F-15s fly over the memorial in a “missing man” formation. | After their remarks, Obama and Hollande laid a wreath, stood for a 21-gun salute and watched F-15s fly over the memorial in a “missing man” formation. |
| Then the U.S. president and French president walked over to a grassy overlook to observe Omaha Beach directly. Obama put his hand on Hollande’s back, and the two pointed out to sea. | Then the U.S. president and French president walked over to a grassy overlook to observe Omaha Beach directly. Obama put his hand on Hollande’s back, and the two pointed out to sea. |
| Daniela Deane in London contributed to this report. | Daniela Deane in London contributed to this report. |