75th Anniversary of D-Day: World leaders gather to honor Normandy invasion's fallen soldiers

World
Europe

01:59

This year's June 6th marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, when Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. World leaders and veterans gathered in commemoration to honor those who fell in the fight. CGTN's Stefan de Vries reports from Normandy.

A lone piper played to honor the moment the first British soldier touched Normandy's shores in 1944. It marked the beginning of the commemorations of the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Early in the morning, British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron attended a ceremony to remember the fallen soldiers from the UK.

"They were soldiers of democracy, they were the men of D-Day and to them we owe our freedom."

Macron then went to the American Cemetery on Omaha Beach, one of the landing sites. Together with U.S. President Donald Trump, he hosted a ceremony attended by over 15,000 people.

STEFAN DE VRIES NORMANDY, FRANCE "President Emmanuel Macron of France sincerely thanked the Americans for their bravery and the sacrifices they made to liberate Europe from Nazi Germany. But Macron also praised international institutions. A clear hint at Donald Trump's protectionism and refusal of multilateralism."

EMMANUEL MACRON FRENCH PRESIDENT "We must always uphold the alliance of free people. That's what the victors did, the day after the German and Japanese capitulation, they created the United Nations. It's what the United States did by creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It's what the leaders of this continent did by bringing about the European Union some years later."

President Macron gave six American Veterans the nation's highest award. This 75th Anniversary of D-Day was probably the last Great Ceremony attended by those who actually landed on the beaches of Normandy in 1944. This is Stefan de Vries, in Normandy, France for CGTN.