Some of the last veterans, now in their late nineties or even older, are coming back to remember fallen friends.
Parachutes drop in Carentan-Les-Marais in Normandy, France, on June 2, 2024, ahead of D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations. | Jeremias Gonzalez/APCARENTAN-LES-MARAIS, France — Parachutists jumping from World War II-era planes hurled themselves Sunday into now peaceful Normandy skies where war once raged, heralding a week of ceremonies for the fast-disappearing generation of Allied troops who fought from D-Day beaches 80 years ago to Adolf Hitler’s fall, helping free Europe of his tyranny.
Watching the southern England coastline recede Sunday through the windows of one of three C-47 transport aircraft that flew him and other jumpers across the English Channel to their Normandy drop zone was like time-traveling back to D-Day for 63-year-old Neil Hamsler, a former British army paratrooper.
Part of the purpose of fireworks shows, parachute jumps, solemn commemorations and ceremonies that world leaders will attend this week is to pass the baton of remembrance to the current generations now seeing war again in Europe, in Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British royals are among the VIPs that France is expecting for D-Day events.
The planes took off Sunday from Duxford, England, for the 90-minute flight to Carentan. The Normandy town was at the heart of D-Day drop zones in 1944, when paratroopers jumped in darkness into gunfire, many scattering far from their objectives. Dozens of World War II veterans are converging on France to revisit old memories, make new ones, and hammer home a message that survivors of D-Day and the ensuing Battle of Normandy, and of other World War II theaters, have repeated time and time again — that war is hell.
The youngest veteran in the group is 96 and the most senior 107, according to their carrier from Dallas, American Airlines.
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A mass parachute jump over Normandy kicks off commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-DayParachutists jumping from World War II-era planes hurled themselves into Normandy skies where war once raged, heralding a week of ceremonies for the fast-disappearing generation of Allied troops wh…
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A mass parachute jump over Normandy kicks commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-DayParachutists jumped from World War II-era planes into now peaceful Normandy to kick off a week of ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
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A mass parachute jump over Normandy kicks commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-DayParachutists jumped from World War II-era planes into now peaceful Normandy to kick off a week of ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
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A mass parachute jump over Normandy kicks commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-DayParachutists jumped from World War II-era planes into now peaceful Normandy to kick off a week of ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day
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Pictures: Mass Parachute Jump over Normandy Opens Commemorations for 80th Anniversary of D-DaySource of breaking news and analysis, insightful commentary and original reporting, curated and written specifically for the new generation of independent and conservative thinkers.
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