Soldiers, Civilians Remember World War II's 'D-Day'
2023-06-07
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1The attack known as D-Day, by Allied soldiers on Nazi German forces who occupied France during World War II, took place on June 6, 1944.
2The landing led to the liberation of France and Western Europe.
3On Tuesday, military members and regular people visited the American cemetery that overlooks Omaha Beach.
4That is where the soldiers landed 79 years ago. The cemetery has markers for over 9,000 American soldiers who died that day.
5The visitors gathered for a memorial service.
6One person who supported the soldiers who fought that day is still alive. She was there.
7Marie Scott is about to be 97 years old. During the war, she was a communications operator and worked in Portsmouth, England.
8Her job was to move messages between the men fighting on the ground in Normandy, France and their leaders who oversaw the operation.
9One of those leaders was General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
10Scott was 17 years old at the time.
11She was not in danger that day, but she feels like she was in the war.
12"I could hear gunfire, machine guns, bombing aircraft, men screaming, shouting, men giving orders," she said.
13"After a few moments of horror, I realized what was happening...and I thought, well, you know, there's no time for horror. You've got a job to do. So, get on with it. Which is what I did."
14Scott called the experience a "pivotal point" in her life.
15Mervyn Kersh of Great Britain was also at Tuesday's service.
16He landed at nearby Gold Beach on D-Day. He is now 98.
17Both Kersh and Scott say they are sad to see another war going on in Europe. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
18Scott said she is "disgusted" to see the fighting, and a war should start only if there is no other way to solve a problem between nations.
19She called the war "an atrocity."
20Kersh said Western countries should continue to support Ukraine with military aid.
21"The only way to stay free is to be strong," he said.
22Two top American military officials were also in Normandy on Tuesday.
23Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared with World War II veterans.
24During his military career, Milley was a top leader in the U.S. military departments that fought in France on D-Day -- the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions.
25He is finishing his service and is to retire in September.
26It was Milley's last visit to Normandy as a top official.
27He stopped to talk with current American soldiers and gave a special coin to each soldier he met.
28Ceremonies took place later Tuesday honoring the military members from the allied nations.
29Civilians came to see the ceremonies, too, and to honor the soldiers who died.
30German professor Andreas Fuchs teaches French in Berlin.
31He brought 10- through 12-year-old students to Normandy.
32He said, "It's very important for children to have a moment in their lives to understand the liberation of Europe.
33And to know what peace has been for 80 years."
34Jean-Philippe Bertrand came from Marseille, in southern France.
35He called the sacrifice "unimaginable." He said being there in person is different from seeing pictures.
36"...Once you're here and you see the reality and the sacrifice that has been made for our beautiful country - I wanted to make the trip once in my life to thank all these people to whom we owe so much," he added.
37I'm Faith Pirlo.
1The attack known as D-Day, by Allied soldiers on Nazi German forces who occupied France during World War II, took place on June 6, 1944. 2The landing led to the liberation of France and Western Europe. 3On Tuesday, military members and regular people visited the American cemetery that overlooks Omaha Beach. That is where the soldiers landed 79 years ago. The cemetery has markers for over 9,000 American soldiers who died that day. The visitors gathered for a memorial service. 4One person who supported the soldiers who fought that day is still alive. She was there. 5Marie Scott is about to be 97 years old. During the war, she was a communications operator and worked in Portsmouth, England. 6Her job was to move messages between the men fighting on the ground in Normandy, France and their leaders who oversaw the operation. One of those leaders was General Dwight D. Eisenhower. 7Scott was 17 years old at the time. 8She was not in danger that day, but she feels like she was in the war. 9"I could hear gunfire, machine guns, bombing aircraft, men screaming, shouting, men giving orders," she said. 10"After a few moments of horror, I realized what was happening...and I thought, well, you know, there's no time for horror. You've got a job to do. So, get on with it. Which is what I did." 11Scott called the experience a "pivotal point" in her life. 12Mervyn Kersh of Great Britain was also at Tuesday's service. He landed at nearby Gold Beach on D-Day. He is now 98. 13Both Kersh and Scott say they are sad to see another war going on in Europe. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. 14Scott said she is "disgusted" to see the fighting, and a war should start only if there is no other way to solve a problem between nations. She called the war "an atrocity." 15Kersh said Western countries should continue to support Ukraine with military aid. "The only way to stay free is to be strong," he said. 16Two top American military officials were also in Normandy on Tuesday. 17Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared with World War II veterans. 18During his military career, Milley was a top leader in the U.S. military departments that fought in France on D-Day -- the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions. He is finishing his service and is to retire in September. 19It was Milley's last visit to Normandy as a top official. He stopped to talk with current American soldiers and gave a special coin to each soldier he met. 20Ceremonies took place later Tuesday honoring the military members from the allied nations. 21Civilians came to see the ceremonies, too, and to honor the soldiers who died. 22German professor Andreas Fuchs teaches French in Berlin. He brought 10- through 12-year-old students to Normandy. 23He said, "It's very important for children to have a moment in their lives to understand the liberation of Europe. And to know what peace has been for 80 years." 24Jean-Philippe Bertrand came from Marseille, in southern France. He called the sacrifice "unimaginable." He said being there in person is different from seeing pictures. 25"...Once you're here and you see the reality and the sacrifice that has been made for our beautiful country - I wanted to make the trip once in my life to thank all these people to whom we owe so much," he added. 26I'm Faith Pirlo. 27Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a story by The Associated Press. 28____________________________________________________ 29Words in This Story 30horror -adj. feeling scared 31pivotal -adj. the place where a change of direction happens 32disgusted -adj. a feeling of unhappy, nearly sick or angry about something 33atrocity -n. a bad or evil thing that happens 34We want to hear from you. How do you feel when you hear about what happened on D-Day? 35Here is how our comment system works: 36Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.