In photos: On Normandy beaches, world honours D-Day's fallen
Ceremony on Normandy shore pays tribute to 150,000 Allied troops who risked and lost their lives 70 years ago in the D-Day assault
From left, Second World War veterans of the U.S. 29th Infantry Division – Hal Baumgarten, 90 from Pennsylvania; Steve Melnikoff, 94, from Maryland; Don McCarthy, 90, from Rhode Island; and Morley Piper, 90, from Massachusetts – attend a D-Day commemoration, on Omaha Beach.THIBAULT CAMUS/The Associated Press
Jessica Graves of Brampton, Ont., is embraced by Queens Own Rifles of Canada Association former president Brian Budden after scattering the ashes of her late grandfather, Canadian sniper William (Boots) Bettridge, on the beach where he landed on D-Day in Bernières-sur-Mer.CHRIS HELGREN/Reuters
Vintage US Army vehicles are driven by history enthusuasts past the remains of Mulberry harbour on the former D-Day landing zone of Gold Beach in Asnelles.CHRIS HELGREN/Reuters
A local villager shows a Canadian army helmet, which he had found in his garden, to a Canadian army ex-serviceman in Bernières-sur-Mer.CHRIS HELGREN/Reuters
Family members of Canadian D-Day veterans, serving soldiers and local citizens attend a ceremony outside Queens Own Rifles of Canada House in Bernières-sur-Mer.CHRIS HELGREN/Reuters
History enthusiasts from the Seaforth Highlanders of Holland march along the former Canadian D-Day landing zone of Juno Beach at Bernières-sur-Mer.CHRIS HELGREN/Reuters
Prime Minister Stephen Harper stands in front of the cenotaph in the Canadian military cemetery in Beny-sur-Mer, France.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Ukraine president-elect Petro Poroshenko, second left, confers with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Benouville, France. Poroshenko and Putin met for the first time since Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region and reportedly spoke for 15 minutes before an official lunch for visiting world dignitaries.KEVIN LAMARQUE/Reuters
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles attend the French-British ceremony at the British War cemetery in Bayeux.TOBY MELVILLE/Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin, middle rear, passes behind U.S. President Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II and Norway's King Harald V, left, as he arrives for a group photo. World leaders and veterans gathered by the beaches of Normandy on Friday to mark the 70th anniversary of the Second World War’s D-Day landings.REGIS DUVIGNAU/Reuters
US President Barack Obama, left, and French President François Hollande look out over Omaha Beach during a joint French-U.S. D-Day commemoration ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-mer.ALAIN JOCARD/The Associated Press