Marines will land on Normandy beaches to commemorate D-Day’s 80th anniversary
About 100 Marines and sailors will conduct an amphibious landing at Normandy, France to honor the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
BY JEFF SCHOGOL | PUBLISHED MAY 31, 2024 1:22 PM EDT
About 100 U.S. Marines will come ashore at Normandy, France next month as a tribute to the Allied troops who landed there 80 years ago in one of the most decisive battles of World War II.
The United States and other Western Allies landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944 to begin the liberation of Europe from the Nazis. German resistance was especially fierce at Omaha Beach, where U.S. troops suffered 3,600 casualties, including 770 killed. But the Allies were able to establish a toehold on the continent from which they would eventually break out and reach Germany itself.
The landings are among the most revered operations in U.S. military history. In commemoration of their 80th anniversary, U.S. Marines and French troops will land on Omaha next week after the French government extended an invitation for the Marines to help commemorate the invasion. The U.S. Army, whose troops made up the bulk of U.S. forces at Normandy in 1944, is sending paratroopers to France to participate in other ceremonies, including a parachute drop.
The Marines and French troops will conduct the amphibious landings at Omaha and Utah beaches on June 4 and Sword Beach on June 5, said Lt. Col. Antony Andrious, a spokesman for U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe and Africa.
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