robust sense of loyalty took up arms with the britain from the very beginning, and there were the fighting poles and tough norwegians and tough was a australians, and finally there were the americans, and they came from the farms of a vast heartland, the streets of glowing cities and the forges of mighty industrial towns before the war many had never ventured

beyond their own community, and now they had come to offer their lives half a world from home. this beach code named omaha was defended by the nazis with monstrous firepower, thousands and thousands of mines and spikes driven into the sand so deeply, it was here that tens of thousands of the americans came, the gis that boarded the landing craft that morning knew they carried on their soldiers not just the pack of a soldier but the fate of the world.

george taylor asked what would happen if the germans stopped right then and there cold on the beach, if they just stopped them, what would happen? this great american replied, why the 18th infantry is coming in behind us and the 26th infantry will come too, and then the seconds infantry and the second and third armored, and all the rest, maybe the 16th won't make it, but someone will. one of those men in taylor's 16th regiment was army medic,

ray, and he was in sisley where he and h ll, by side in the early morning hours, the two brothers stood together on the deck of the "uss," and bill said if i don't make it take care of my family, and ray asked his brother to do the same. of the 31 men on ray's landing craft, only ray and six others made it to the beach. there were only a few of them left. they came to the sector right here below us, and easy red it was called. again and again ray ran back into the water and he dragged

out one man after another. he was shot through the arm, his leg was ripped open by shrapnel, his back was broken, he nearly drown, he had been on the beach saving lives when he finally lost consciousness. he woke up the next day on a cot beside a another badly wounded soldier, and he looked over and saw his brother, bill, and they made it, they made it, they made it. at 98 years old ray is here with us today with his fourth purple heart and his third silver star, ray, the free world salutes you.

[ applause ] [ applause ]

>> thank you, ray. [ applause ] >> nearly two hours in, unrelenting fire from these bluffs kept the americans pinned down in the sand now red with our hero's red blood, and then just a few yards from where i am standing a break through came, the battle turned and with it history. down on the beach captain joe dawson, the son of a texas preacher, led g through the

natural fold in the hillside still here, and just to my right, captain dawson snuck between a machine gun perch tossed in grenades, and what a job he did and what bravery he showed. lieutenant sprawleding continued to stop the slaughter on the beach below. countless more americans poured out across this ground all over the countryside, and they joined fellow american warriors from utah beach and allies from juneau along with the airborne and the french patriots, private

first class russell picket of the 29th divisions' famed 116th infantry regiment had been wounded in the first wave at the beach, and private picket said i am going to return, i'm going to return. six days after d-day he rejoined his country, and two-thirds had been killed already and many had been wounded within 15 minutes of the invasion, and they lost 19 just from the small town of bedford, virginia, alone. before long a grenade left

private picket and he was gravely wounded, so badly wounded. again, he chose to return. he didn't care. heed to to be here. he was then wounded a third time and laid unconscious for 12 days, and they thought he was gone and thought he had no chance. russell picket is the last known survivor of the legendary company a, and today, believe it or not, he has returned once more to these shores to be with his comrades. private picket, you honor us all with your presence. [ applause ]

[ applause ] >> tough guy. by the fourth week of august, paris was liberated.

someer some t the gates of nazi concentration camps to free jews and others fail on fields of battle returning to rest on this sale for eternity, and before this place was consecrated to history the land was owned by a french farmer, a member of the french resistance, and these were great people, these were strong and tough people. his terrified wife waited out d-day in a nearby house holding tight to their little baby girl. the next day a soldier appeared. i'm an american, he said, i'm here to help.

the french woman was overcome with emotion and cried. days later she laid flowers on fresh american graves. today her granddaughter, stephanie, serves as a guide at the cemetery, and this week stephanie led 90-year-old marion to see the grave of her brother, don, for the very first time, and they are both with us today and we thank you for keeping alive the memories of our precious heroes. thank you. phraz [ applause ][ applause ]

9,388 young americans rest beneath the white crosses and stars of david on these beautiful grounds. each has been adopted by a french family that thinks of him as their own. they come from all over france

to look after our boys, and they kneel, they cry and they pray and place flowers and they never forget. today america embraces the french people and thanks you for honoring our beloved dead. thank you. [ applause ] to all of our friends and partners, our cherished alliance was forged in the heat of

battle, tested in the trials of war and proven in the blessings of peace. our bond is unbreakable. from across the earth americans are drawn to this place as though it were a part of our very soul. we come not only because of what they did here, we come because of who they were. they were young men with their entire lives before them, they were husbands that said good-bye to their young brides and took their duty as their fate. they were fathers who would never meet their infant sons and daughters because they had a job to do and with god as their witness they were going to get it done.

they came wave after wave without question, without hesitation, and without complaint. more powerful than the strength of american arms was the strength of american hearts. these men ran through the fires of hell moved by a force no weapon could destroy. the fierce patriotism of a free, proud ando sovereign people. they battled not for control and domination, but for liberty, democracy and self rule. they pressed on for love and home and country, the main

streets, the school yards, the churches, the neighbors, the families and communities that gave us men such as these, they were sustained by the confidence that america can do anything because we are a noble nation with a virtuous people, praying to a righteous god. the exceptional might came from a truly exceptional spirit. the abundance of courage came from an abundance of faith. the great deeds of an army came from the great depths of air love as they confronted their fate, the allies of the

americans placed their fate in god's hand. they will tell you they were just one of the lucky ones, as one of them recently put it, all of the heroes are buried here but we know what these men did, we knew how brave they were. they came here and saved freedom and then they went home and showed us all what freedom is all about. the american sons and daughters who saw us to victory were no less extraordinary in peace. they built families, they built industries, they built a national culture that inspired the entire world in the decades

that followed. america defeated caommunism, an launched a man to the moon and kept on pushing to new frontiers and today america is stronger than ever before. seven decades ago the warriors of d-day fought a sinister enemy that spoke of thousand-year empire, and in defeating that evil they left a legacy that d 1,000 years, but for a long time.

for as long as the soul knows of duty and honor, for as freedom keeps its hold on the human heart, to the men who sit behind me and to the boys that rest in the field before me, your example will never ever grow old. your legend will never die. your spirit, brave, unyielding and true will never die. the blood that they spilled, the tears they shed, the lives that they gave, the sacrifice they made did not just win a battle,

it did not just win a war, those who fought here won a future for a nation, they won the survival of our civilization and they showed us the way to love, cherish and defend our way of life for many centuries to come. today, as we stand together on this sacred earth, we pledged that our nation will forever be strong and united. we will forever be together. our people will forever be bold. our hearts will forever be loyal and our children and their children will forever and always

be free. may god bless our great veterans, may god bless our allies, may god bless the heroes of d-day and may god bless america. thank you. thank you very much. [ applause ] >> the presidents will lay a

wreath followed by science. ♪ ♪

♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> announcer: ladies and gentlemen, please remain city as

president macron and president trump greet the world war ii veterans. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ president trump and president macron greeting veterans there in the front rows of the ceremony, honoring the 75th anniversary of d-day, and president trump went on to say the exceptional might came from

exceptional spirit and the great deeds of our army came from the great depths of their love, and president macron bestowed the legion of honor. two presidents turning to them and shaking, it appears, virtually all of their hands. >> you can see it on their faces and all the faces of those with them, and you can see how much it meant to the family members and companions as well. >> as president macron said the legion of honor is the nation's highest honor in france. >> a version of nobility you are not born into and it's something

you earn with your deeds, and that's the meaning of this moment. >> from here the two presidents will leave the stage area and will walk towards omaha beach, the overlook on omaha beach where there will be a 21-gun salute. there will also be flyovers and the ceremony will end with the playing of "taps," but as you see the two presidents are lingering amongst the veterans at this moment. >> not a moment to rush, something to savor. >> they have waited quite sometime. must be something to receive, the honors here on the beaches

of normandy. >> the two presidents seem to be savoring as well. >> there are 65 d-day veterans here and additional world war ii veterans, but considering the age of most of them now, that's quite a strong contingent. >> if you consider the 3% of those that put the uniform are are still alive, and 75,000 troops from d-day, there are only a couple thousand remaining. >> many of them are spry, and they are looking at the beaches and some are with their families, and some brought their sons, their grandchildren, and it's something they want their family to understand. >> the national world war ii

museum has been traveling with some of the veterans over the last week to ten days. spry is the world. >> where you have been taking them? >> from amsterdam and sailed down the coast, and we were on the extreme other side of the normandy beach head. today we drove in from the western side. we had a veteran's pan manyel a couple nights ago, and we asked them questions, and they were cutting up like 18-year-olds, thnceetnd aarkabla

energy surge occurs. >> it could be tough to keep up with them, and not as quick as they moved 75 years ago, but still commandable. >> it's really fascinating to have watched the exchanges between president trump and the veterans, especially the ones that he singled out, he singled out a half dozen or so different stories of heroism, and different veterans who managed to make it for this event and he went over and shook hands and embraced him and in many cases they embraced him back. it was a mutual admiration moment, i think, on behalf of both of them, and memories for them, you know, what can we say about his performance here, he seems to have done what presidents are meant to do on occasions like this, and the

veterans seemed to have appreciated it. >> as you see there, some people still wondering through the cemetery and taking it in as the ceremony continues. >> i look at the cemetery and i think about the best of america, officers and enlisted men laying side by side, all equal in depth. >> most of the stunning places in the world, and i have been to a lot of places and every time we come here it takes your breath away. >> there's a serenity about it, i guess, for lack of a better world, and souls at rest and a job to be done, as we said repeatedly, and a job well done. >> and impeccable.

>> yeah, as every military cemetery i have been to, they do a great job. >> thank the monuments commission, this is their biggest task, so for the fallen italian campaign, it's extremely kept. has forhe lking to the guy, th, an appropriate name in french. >> no, you can't make that up. >> i was surprised to learn, this was about the largest american war cemetery in europe, and there's one in belgian that is bigger but includes casualties from the first world war, but it's a testimony to the

alliance mentioned by the two presidents today. >> you can see the two presidents looking towards the overlook from the beach, and it was hard to get down here on d-day, wasn't it? >> that's one of the reasons this cemetery is perfect, it laid out the military problem, their objective. >> this is where they were trying to get. >> yeah, they came and made it and sacrificed and now they rest on it. >> it's a very short trip from the memorial to the overlook of omaha beach. another location here that when you see it, and you try to understand what happened here 75 years ago, it's just a phenomenal achieveme b siteand

point out, the enemy was here, and here, but this one is different. >> yes, and now the 21-gun salute.

the completion of the 21-gun salute on thisy nice ceremony, what is your sense of this day? >> overwhelmed. i was here a year ago and this was more moving. >> mark phillips, one last word? >> a lot of people were looking at the ceremony of how the president of the united states would perform and the europeans were looking forward to see what he would say and i think everybody will come away satisfied. >> thank you all very much. our d-day on the -hour streaming ne cbsnews.com/isp. this has been a cbs news special

report. i am anthony mason, cbs news, normandy, france. >> 24 hours it. and then, the anti-aircraft fire. people say, hey, look at the flares. ain't no flares. >> reporter: jeff weitzle has heard stories like dan mcbride's through the years and they have moved him. >> when you get up tomorrow morning and you see the sun come up, please thank god for our veterans. >> reporter: and that's part of the reason why he signed on as chief pilot for "miss montana." >> it's really about paying proper tribute. those folks in world war ii are all passing away now. this thing we do in normandy is probably the last time they have a proper tribute paid before they're all gone. there's a deep-seeded mission here for me. >> reporter: accomplishing that mission, means defeating the forces of time and circumstance.

shortly after the war, this plane crashed into the monongahela she was raised from bottom, she flew for years for the johnson flying service, taking firefighters to remote blazes in montana forrests, so they could parachute out to extinguish the flames. over the years, the plane built a following and there was no shortage of volunteers, some dressed in period costume, willing to help get her airborne again. crystal shoneman has been there almost since the beginning. >> every weekend for ten months, plus two weeks over christmas, consuming. it's consuming in the best possible way. >> reporter: after rebuilding both engines and making countless other fixes, large and small, "miss montana" flew

again. two weeks ago, she made a triumphant pass over home base and headed east. she's now traveling in distinguished company, including that's all brother, believed to be the first c-47 in the main wave of the invasion. and placid lassie, another d-day veteran who almost ended her days in a florida weed patch before being brought back to life and flown by eric. this saw a lot of action. >> saw an extraordinary amount of action. it's extraordinary that i am able to fly around in an airplane like this, and this actual airplane. the rivets that surround me flew over the beaches of normandy in 1944. >> reporter: they will try to do most everything the same way that many of these same planes

did during the war. they were drop parachutists. >> and the wind takes you and you're flying this way. and within four seconds, your chute's open. >> reporter: including kim maynard who used to jump into fires to fight them, and her husband, al charters, a retired special forces officer. >> if we don't do it well and we don't do it accurately, shame on us. >> reporter: this is personal for him. the invasion, fierce fighting, and the determination of the allied troops who suffered staggering losses, is not just part of world history to him. it's part of his family's history. >> it's the same air space that my father flew in three times on d-day, 75 years ago. so, to share that air space is perfect. >> reporter: honor for the d-day

soldiers, and glory for a vintage airplane that, without

the story of the d-day invasion of normandy is written in history books but also in the memory of those who fought. and there are fewer of them each year. mark phillips looks back on a battle that changed the course of history. >> reporter: think of this has an early video blog. youtube 1944. >> and soon, we were down at the docks. and there, we found units of 101st airborne division carrying everything they could carry by hand, boarding landing craft that was so heavily-laden they had to be pushed off of the docks by trucks. >> reporter: the voice is jack leads, a world war ii camera man. when he wasn't filming some of the most important moments to be shown to movie audiences back

home, he was taking home movies with a personal camera to show family and friends. >> reporter: these are units of the 101st airborne division. and i don't have to tell you who this man is imitating. he was a notre dame football player at one time. i was told later on he was killed in the action. >> reporter: any d-day anniversary is significant. the one coming up this week, the 75th, may well be the last one which veterans of the landing can attend. returning veterans have always been a part of these events. five years ago, charlie wilson came back to utah beach where he landed in his tank. you didn't spend too much time here. >> get off this beach and get out of here. and never look back. >> reporter: charlie says he would like to come back for this anniversary, too. but at 93, now, his family says the trip would be too hard.

even with his spirit. >> i can still kick butts if i had to. >> reporter: leslie cruise pair su parachuted into the invasion. >> he was going. and i'm here. >> reporter: does it make you feel better to close the chapter? the r.ay what these anniversaries prove, at the heart, there are a collection of intensely personal stories. >> that is "the overnight news" for this thursday. for some of you, the news continues. for others, check bac wa usith a

little later for the morning news and "cbs this morning." ♪om the broadcast center ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ it's thursday, june 6, 2019. this is the "cbs morning news." d-day, 75 years ago on the beaches of normandy, the fierce battle against the nazis in world war ii began. we celebrate the remaining veterans and honor fallen heroes. tariff talks. meetings resume today between american and mexican officials on proposed tariffs on mexican goods. >> and painkiller murders. a doctor accused of killing 25 of his patients with fatal overdoses.