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OMAHA BEACH, France (AP) — The five beaches are silent at dawn but forever haunted.
When the sun rises Thursday over the Normandy coastline where thousands of men bled and died 75 years ago, the diminishing number of World War II veterans who know firsthand of the sacrifices that were made to dismantle tyranny will remember D-Day and hope the world never forgets.
After Britain's spirited anniversary tribute to the derring-do of the Allied forces that set off from England to defend democracy, the commemoration will be comparatively solemn in France, the country where so many young lives ended in sand and sea on June 6, 1944.
Leaders from the United States, Britain, Canada, France — and then-foe and now ally Germany — will once again laud the troops who stormed the fortified Normandy beaches to help turn the tide of the war and give birth to a new Europe, since at peace.
A ceremony at daybreak will mark the time when the first troops landed. Remembrances are taking place throughout the day at the military cemeteries where countries buried their fallen citizens.
French President Emmanuel Macron and President Donald Trump will look out over Omaha Beach, the scene of the bloodiest fighting, from the cemetery with grave markers for over 9,000 Americans, servicemen who established a blood bond between the United States and its trans-Atlantic allies.
"I have all kinds of friends buried," said William Tymchuk, 98, who served with the 4th Canadian Armored Division during some of the deadliest fighting of the brutal campaign after the Normandy landings.
"They were young. They got killed. They couldn't come home," Tymchuk, who was back in Normandy, continued.
"Sorry," he said, tearing up. "They couldn't even know what life is all about."
The biggest-ever air and seaborne invasion took place on D-Day. More than 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches code-named Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword and Gold, carried by 7,000 boats.
In that defining moment of military strategy confounded by unpredictable weather and human chaos, soldiers from the United States, Britain, Canada and other Allied nations applied relentless bravery to carve out a beachhead on territory Nazi Germany had occupied for four years.
"The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory," Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower predicted in his order of the day.
The Battle of Normandy, codenamed Operation Overlord, hastened Germany's defeat less than a year later.
Still, that single day cost the lives of 4,414 Allied troops, 2,501 of them Americans. More than 5,000 were injured. On the German side, several thousand were killed or wounded.
From there, Allied troops would advance their fight, take Paris in late summer and march in a race against the Soviets to control as much German territory as possible by the time Adolf Hitler died in his Berlin bunker and Germany surrendered in May 1945.
The final battles would divide Europe for decades between the West and the Soviet-controlled East, the face-off line of the Cold War.
Russian President Vladimir Putin wasn't among the world leaders who joined Queen Elizabeth II on the south coast of England for Britain's 75th anniversary events honoring the ultimate triumph of D-Day.
The guests of honor at Wednesday's international ceremony in Portsmouth were several hundred of them aged 91 to 101 who served in the conflict — and the 93-year-old British monarch, also a member of what has been called the "greatest generation."
The queen, who was an army mechanic during World War II, said that when she attended a 60th anniversary commemoration 15 years ago, many thought it might be the last such event.
"But the wartime generation — my generation — is resilient," she said, striking an unusually personal note.
"The heroism, courage and sacrifice of those who lost their lives will never be forgotten," Elizabeth said. "It is with humility and pleasure, on behalf of the entire country — indeed the whole free world — that I say to you all, thank you."
In France, Normandy was awash with ceremonies and reenactments of key moments in the campaign ahead of Thursday's observances. U.S. Army Rangers climbed the jagged limestone cliffs of Normandy's Pointe du Hoc to honor the men who scaled them under fire 75 years earlier.
Elsewhere, parachutists jumped from C-47 transporters in WWII colors and other aircraft, aiming for fields of wild flowers on the outskirts of Carentan, one of the early objectives for Allied paratroopers.
Among the jumpers was 97-year-old D-Day veteran Tom Rice, 97. The American was dropped into Normandy with thousands of other paratroopers in 1944 and recalled it as "the worst jump I ever had."
Like many other veterans, Rice said he remains troubled by the war.
"We did a lot of destruction, damage. And we chased the Germans out and coming back here is a matter of closure," he said. "You can close the issue now."
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AP journalists John Leicester in Carentan, France; Milos Krivokapic in Pointe du Hoc, France; and Jill Lawless and Gregory Katz in London contributed to this report.
Follow all of the AP's coverage of D-Day at https://apnews.com/WorldWarII
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Mixing history lesson, entertainment and solemn remembrance, the ceremony in Portsmouth was a large-scale spectacle involving troops, dancers and martial bands, culminating in a military fly-past. But the stars of the show were the elderly veterans of that campaign who said they were surprised by all the attention: They were just doing their jobs.
"I was just a small part in a very big machine," said 99-year-old John Jenkins, a veteran from Portsmouth, who received a standing ovation as he addressed the event.
"You never forget your comrades because we were all in it together," he said. "It is right that the courage and sacrifice of so many is being honored 75 years on. We must never forget."
The event, which kicked off two days of D-Day anniversary observances, paid tribute to the troops who shaped history during the dangerous mission to reach beachheads and fight in German-occupied France.
D-Day saw more than 150,000 Allied troops land on the beaches of Normandy in northwest France on June 6, 1944, carried by 7,000 boats. The Battle of Normandy, codenamed Operation Overlord, was a turning point in the war, and helped bring about Nazi Germany's defeat in May 1945.
Wednesday's ceremony brought together presidents, prime ministers and other representatives of more than a dozen countries that fought alongside Britain in Normandy.
The leader of the country that was the enemy in 1944 , German Chancellor Angela Merkel, also attended— a symbol of Europe's postwar reconciliation and transformation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who attended 70th anniversary commemorations in France five years ago, has not been invited. Russia was not involved in D-Day but was instrumental in defeating the Nazis on the Eastern Front.
The ceremony sought to take people back in time, with world leaders, reading the words of participants in the conflict.
Trump read a prayer that President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered in a radio address on June 6, 1944, extolling the "mighty endeavor" Allied troops were engaged in.
British Prime Minister Theresa May read a letter written by Capt. Norman Skinner of the Royal Army Service Corps to his wife, Gladys, on June 3, 1944, a few days before the invasion. He was killed the day after D-Day.
"Although I would give anything to be back with you, I have not yet had any wish at all to back down from the job we have to do," he wrote.
French President Emmanuel Macron read from a letter sent by a young resistance fighter, Henri Fertet, before he was executed at the age of 16 years old.
"I am going to die for my country. I want France to be free and the French to be happy," it said.
The ceremony ended with singer Sheridan Smith performing the wartime hit "We'll Meet Again," as many of the elderly assembled veterans sang along.
Then WWII Spitfire and Hurricane fighter jets, modern-day Typhoons and the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows aerobatic unit swooped over the dignitaries, veterans and large crowd of spectators.
The crowd beyond the security barriers loved the planes but loved the veterans even more. Whenever their images came up on the big screen, people cheered. The former servicemen have reacted to such shows of attention with humility and surprise, as many believed they had been forgotten.
"What happened to me is not important. I'm not a hero. I served with men who were," said Les Hammond, 94, who landed at Juno Beach with the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers. "I'm very lucky I'm a survivor."
On Thursday the focus shifts to France, where commemorations will be held at simple military cemeteries near the Normandy beaches.
Events in France began early Wednesday morning with U.S. Army Rangers climbing the jagged limestone cliffs of Normandy's Pointe du Hoc to honor the men who scaled them under fire 75 years ago.
They were recreating a journey taken in 1944 by the U.S. Army's 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions to destroy Nazi guns atop the cliffs, helping prepare the way for Allied troops to land on the coast.
Elsewhere in Normandy parachutists jumped from C-47 transporters in WWII colors and other aircraft, aiming for fields of wild flowers on the outskirts of Carentan, one of the early objectives for Allied troops.
Among the jumpers was American D-Day veteran Tom Rice, 97. He jumped into Normandy with thousands of other parachutists in 1944 and recalled it as "the worst jump I ever had."
Like many other veterans , Rice said he remains troubled by the war.
"We did a lot of destruction, damage. And we chased the Germans out and coming back here is a matter of closure," he said. "You can close the issue now."
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Follow all the AP's coverage of D-Day at https://apnews.com/WorldWarII
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Lawless reported from London. John Leicester in Carentan, France, Milos Krivokapic in Pointe du Hoc, France and Gregory Katz in London contributed.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
