On so many different levels, the gathering of western leaders in Normandy today is steeped in symbolism as the nations whose troops stormed the beaches eight decades ago reflect on wars — past and present.
The ceremonies that will unfold throughout today, however, also mark what might be the world’s last opportunity to celebrate the handful of surviving soldiers, sailors and aircrew who charged forth on June 6, 1944 into the teeth of the Nazi guns — and to say goodbye.
Time grows short for the veterans of D-Day, most of whom are at least close to a century old. That fact was underscored painfully by the passing of navy veteran Bill Cameron, who had been slated to be part of the official Veterans Affairs Canada delegation.
He died Friday, the day before he was set to board a plane in Vancouver, the Canadian Press reported. Cameron was 100 years old.
Veterans Affairs Minister Ginette Petitpas-Taylor said this year’s commemoration will likely be the last attended by veterans of the European campaign, but the federal government will continue to mark the occasion.
“It’s so important for us as Canadians to continue with these very important events,” she said Wednesday.
The ceremonies, including the Canadian commemoration event at Juno Beach and the international ceremony at Omaha Beach, will be attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join President Joe Biden at the U.S.-led ceremony.
The Allied invasion of France on D-Day marked the beginning of the end of Nazi tyranny. The battle holds an important place in the collective imagination of western democracies.
This 80th anniversary comes at another pivotal moment in history, as a full-scale war rages in Eastern Europe.
Russia has not been invited to the event. Of all the allies that fought Hitler during the Second World War, Russia suffered the most from German aggression — an estimated 20 million dead.
Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, however, has changed the calculus and the lukewarm relations that existed between the West and Russia following the end of the Cold War have evaporated.
French President Emmanuel Macron has been pushing allies to do more to stop the Russian advance, which has swallowed vast swaths of Ukraine’s east and south.
On Tuesday, Macron said he will elaborate on further French support for Ukraine during Zelenskyy’s visit.
Zelenskky’s presence adds another layer of symbolism. Ukraine’s struggle — and Zelenskyy personally — have been cast in the same defiant light as Britain and its wartime leader Winston Churchill.
But it was at the last major gathering of allied leaders in Normandy, as western nations struggled to address Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, that countries agreed to the Normandy contact group, a collection of European states that tried to mediate a settlement between Russia and Ukraine when the conflict was confined to the eastern Donbas region.
Britain’s King Charles III, who continues to be treated for cancer, will travel to France for the British ceremonies but plans to skip the international ceremony. Instead, the Prince of Wales will be present at Omaha Beach.