Crowds honor World War II veterans at Normandy D-Day celebrations
For the past two years, ceremonies were reduced to a minimum amid Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
This year, crowds of French and international visitors are back in Normandy.
When D-Day veterans set foot on the Normandy beaches and other World War II sites,
they express a mix of joy and sadness.
Joy at seeing the gratitude and friendliness of the French toward those who landed on June 6, 1944.
Sadness as they think of their fallen comrades and of another battle now being waged in Europe:
As a bright sun was rising over the wide band of sand of Omaha Beach on Monday, 78 years on
U.S. D-Day veteran Charles Shay expressed thoughts for his comrades who fell that day.
The 98-year-old Penobscot Native American from Indian Island, Maine, took part in a sage-burning ceremony near the beach in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.