At 99 years old, Robert Gibson still remembers D-Day. “It was tough,” the veteran says of the dangerous 1944 beach landing. Gibson and other former soldiers traveled to Normandy to mark the 79th anniversary of the famous D-Day.
D-Day—referring to the invasion of Normandy and Operation Overlord—commemorates the key World War II assault that helped liberate France and Western Europe from Nazi control. In military lingo, d stands simply for day, and the term D-Day can apply to many major operations.
But there’s a reason this D-Day is distinct.
On June 6, 1944, more than 150,000 Allied troops stormed the northern coast of France. They landed on beaches codenamed Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword, and Gold, carried by 7,000 boats. That one day, 4,414 Allied soldiers lost their lives, 2,501 of them Americans. More than 5,000 were wounded.
On the German side, several thousand were killed or wounded.
Gibson was among dozens of World War II veterans, mostly American and British, who traveled to Normandy last week. Gibson remembers “lots of casualties” during the landing. He says, “Never forget we were only 18, 19 years old. . . . I’m glad I made it.”
Gibson stormed Utah Beach on D-Day in the second wave. He survived to continue fighting in Normandy and eventually into Germany.
Andrew Negra landed on Utah Beach on July 18, 1944. He returned for the first time this year and was “amazed” by the warm welcome from local French people.
“Every place we went, people are cheering, clapping, and they’ve been doing this for I don’t know how many years,” he says.
At age 99, Negra is the only member of his battalion still alive. Braving the wind to walk on the beach for a few minutes, he said, “So many we lost. And here I am.”
Negra participated in combat operations until his division reached eastern Germany in April 1945.
On Sunday, over 40 American veterans of World War II formed a parade. They used wheelchairs along the streets of the small town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise, where thousands of paratroopers jumped not long after midnight on June 6, 1944.
Cheerful crowds applauded, calling out “Merci” and “Thank you.” Children waved. Many families asked for photos with the men.
Donnie Edwards is president of the Best Defense Foundation. The non-profit organization helps World War II veterans visit former battlefields. “For us, every year is a big one,” Edwards says—especially given the ages of the soldiers who fought more than seven decades ago.
After spending time at the beach, the veterans headed to an overlook. There they attended a ceremony at a monument honoring the U.S. Navy. “The fallen will never be forgotten. The veteran will ever be honored,” an inscription there reads.
U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley stresses the import of the commemorations. “They were fighting to make sure that fascism and Nazism didn’t stay in control of Europe. Ultimately, we all know that they were successful,” he says.
Valérie and Lionel Draucourt came to Utah Beach to pay their respects to the veterans. “Frankly, I don’t think we can quite fathom what they lived through,” Lionel says. “We can’t understand it. It’s so big, it’s crazy.”
Pay to all what is owed to them: . . . respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. — Romans 13:7
(U.S. veterans salute as they pose for photographs in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, Normandy, France, on June 4, 2023. AP/Thomas Padilla)
