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Obama praises courage of Second World War veterans

Paris: At the U.S. war cemetery in the Norman town of Coleville-sur-mer, U.S. President Barack Obama addressed some 250 veterans of the Second World War saying their courage and sacrifice 65 years ago had saved the world from tyranny and evil.

Leaders from Britain, Canada, France and the United States came together on the beaches of Normandy, in northern France, to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the largest amphibious invasion the world has seen. Some 1,60,000 troops from the four nations took part in the assault which sealed the fate of the German Third Reich and changed the course of the 20th century.

“We live in a world of competing beliefs and claims about what is true. In such a world, it is rare for a struggle to emerge that speaks to something universal about humanity. The Second World War did that,” Mr. Obama said in his address.

The Colleville cemetery where the ceremony was held overlooks Omaha Beach where U.S. forces landed on June 6, 1944, losing 9,387 soldiers in the assault against heavily fortified German defences. It was a grey, cloudy day, as it often is in Normandy, and below the podium, the cemetery stretched out with its seemingly endless rows of white crosses and stars of David.

Mr. Obama’s visit to Normandy came at the end of a rapid tour through Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Germany and France, where Mr. Obama tried to reach out to the Muslim world and press for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Mr. Obama said the war against Nazi Germany paved the way for years of peace and prosperity. “It was unknowable then, but so much of the progress that would define the twentieth century, on both sides of the Atlantic, came down to the battle for a slice of beach only six miles long and two miles wide,” he said. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said: “We will never forget the pain or the extent of the suffering and may we never renounce the dream of peace and justice for humanity.”

All the leaders present recalled the sacrifice of very young soldiers who fought hard in the face of very heavy enemy fire to change the course of history. Earlier in the day, Mr. Obama and his wife Michelle flew from Paris to the Normandy city of Caen where they were greeted by Mr. Sarkozy and First Lady Carla Bruni for lunch and a bilateral meeting.

During bilateral talks preceding the commemoration ceremony, U.S. President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy agreed to push for a two-state solution for peace in West Asia and to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Mr. Sarkozy denounced what he called “insane” statements by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has suggested that Israel be wiped off the map. The French leader also supported Mr. Obama’s call for Israel to halt settlement construction in the West Bank.

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