Normandy ceremonies mark 66th anniversary of D-Day invasion

Normandy ceremonies mark 66th anniversary of D-Day

COLVILLE-SUR-MER, France — Veterans and those grateful for their sacrifices have marked the 66th anniversary of the D-Day landings, remembering the invasion that turned the tide of World War II.

U.S. veteran William Duane Bush, wearing a military jacket, raised the American flag at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, which overlooks Omaha Beach. It was the first time 93-year-old Bush of Lincoln, Nebraska had returned to Europe since the war’s end.

An ecumenical service was held at the cathedral in the town of Bayeux, where a wreath-laying service also took place at the British military cemetery.

Some 215,000 Allied soldiers, and roughly as many Germans, were killed or wounded during D-Day and the ensuing nearly three months it took to secure the capture of Normandy.