that were covered by the british troops between we stream and arrow moms 3 sections that were named juno sword and gold an armed nearly protected their battle be a battle of images that will serve the allied propaganda and will become part of history. when reporting. first difficult scenes of em on jobs and better job making their final preparations before the attack seems taken a few hours before general eisenhower was going to get a number one tells us that the 2nd front and open. the outbreak of the 2nd bout will in britain there was not a single a cameraman well all newsreel filming was done by newsreel companies it took some time until the leaders of they armed forces in britain could be persuaded that there were advantages to allowing cameras to record events for reasons of morale propaganda at home but also very important lay propaganda abroad the army film unit was created in november 1940 the people recruited to become cameraman well all men who had some form of military service the belief was held very strongly that to be a good cameraman you had 1st to be a good soldier. and t

gold the juno beach it was it was us it was brits it was canadians it was a pivotal day it was some of the bloodiest fighting in the history of the world and the losses were monumental but i think it was pivotal for the move through france here to go on and liberate europe at the start of that the key point that you think the amount of coordination that took place back then for example between the americans and the british is that something that's still possible or even further today and you know in the framework of nato i think it's absolutely still possible i think a lot of changes 75 words you think about the technological sophistication of the joint force united states joint forces you think about allied partners i think it's a it's a different type of war fighting say there's cyber war fighting there's you know hypersonic type weapons in development you think about over the horizon capabilities but it is at the core for all the armed services across the globe are still men involved and today men and women in uniform and i think what we're here today is to recognize you know the sa

navy and landed on juno beach with a tank landing ship. he brought supplies on subsequent days.ix -- mr. dickey served with the 322nd bomber group and the european theater of operations. he flew three missions over omaha beach on d-day. richard peterson. staff sergeant with the u.s. army air force. >> mr. donald mckie was a member of that when he ninth infantry division and took part in the invasion of normandy. served with the 20th bomber group, for 40th bomber squadron in the european theater of .perations mr. irving powell served with mr.three 91st bomber group bomb squadron598 in the european theater of operations. mr. charles lawrence wheeler served as a captain where he was a test pilot. he served as a rifle marksman with the u.s. marine corps. served in the pacific theater of operations where he took part mr. davis campaigns roman served as an air traffic controller in england with the 412 airmen service group and assisted with flight operations on d-day. served with the bomber group and the european center of operations. mr. ortega served with the air repair squadron as

and five beaches, code—named utah, omaha, gold, juno and soared. to flow onto the beach in the face of fierce resistance. air support was crucial. with over 14,000 missions carried out by allied forces. not all of the ambition is to take territory on the first they were met. us forces face particularly difficult opposition from elite german troops. but a foothold had been achieved. the battle to liberate northern europe from nazi occupation was under way. joining is now is a retired general georgejarman joining is now is a retired general george jarman who joining is now is a retired general georgejarman who served as nato supreme allied commander. thank you for joining supreme allied commander. thank you forjoining us. you organised the military participation in the 50th anniversary of the d—day landings, i'm sure it feels like yesterday to you! how has the significance of these commemorations changed in the past 25 years? it's extremely more important now because it reminds us what brought us together back in 1944 and at the 50th, the president o

navy and landed on juno beach with a tank landing ship.ach on subsequent days. mr. rick bailey. [applause] served with the 322nd bomber theaterd the european of operations. he flew three missions over omaha beach on d-day. [applause] petersonorge richard served as a staff sergeant with u.s. army air forces. [applause] mckee was a member of the ninth infantry division and took part in the invasion of -- 29th infantry division and took part in the invasion of normandy. [applause] waltrip served with -- four 40th bomb squad room 440th bomb squadron. [applause] served with powell squadron and the european theater of operations -- in the european theater of operations. served with the 598th bomb squadron in the european theater of operations. [applause] >> mr. charles lawrence wheeler served as a captain in the u.s. army air forces as a test pilot. he served in the pacific theater of operations. [applause] se -- served as a marksman with u.s. marine corps. [applause] he served in the pacific theater of operations, where he took part in okinawa

guest: yes, we have to remember that utah and omaha dominate the american narrative, but juno beach for the canadians, 900 americans killed, more than 900 in omaha, but over 300 canadians were killed at juno beach, the second deadliest beach on d-day. and we have to remember something very important about the canadians, our neighbors, great allies, very strong allies, they were all volunteers. every single guy, every single canadian that stepped out of a landing craft onto juno beach, every canadian that jumped out of a dakota on d-day was a volunteer. they do not have to be there, so that makes their courage special, i think, and unique. allieds a story of cooperation, superb ally cooperation, the pinnacle, you could argue, of allied operation. it was a joint effort. we fought side-by-side and died virginia, and he said he came in on the second wave for the interruption with alex kershaw. your biggest full of first-hand accounts from veterans. what was your primary source, alex kershaw, letters home, personal diaries, interviews with surviving veterans? guest: a combination of many thi

guest: yes, we have to remember that utah and omaha dominate the american narrative, but juno beach forthe canadians, 900 americans killed, more than 900 in omaha, but over 300 canadians were killed at juno beach, the second deadliest beach on d-day. and we have to remember something very important about the canadians, our neighbors, great allies, very strong allies, they were all volunteers. every single guy, every single canadian that stepped out of a landing craft onto juno beach, every canadian that jumped out of a dakota on d-day was a volunteer. they did not have to be there, so that makes their courage special, i think, and unique. d-day is a story of allied cooperation, superb ally cooperation, the pinnacle, you could argue, of allied cooperation in world war ii. it was a joint effort. we fought side-by-side and died side-by-side, and the victory was bought by several nations. oft: your book is full letters. what were your sources? guest: it was a combination of many things. notvteterans -- there are many alive today. several died during the years i was working on the book. we w

once they hit juno beach, they never looked back. all of these men were part of a with names honor, that spoke of a pride as bright as the colors they bore. rifles,l winnipeg poland's 24th lancers, the royal scott fusiliers, the screaming eagles, england's armored divisions, the forces of free friends, the coast guard's -- free france, the coast guard's matchbox fleet, and you, the american rangers. passed, you were young when you took these cliffs. boys,f you were hardly and yet you risk everything here. why? why did you do it? what compelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? what inspired all the men of the army's that met here? we look at you, and somehow we know the answer. it was faith and belief, loyalty and love. the men of normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they thought -- thought for all humanity. wouldthat a just god grant them mercy on this beach or on the next. it was deep knowledge, and great god, we have not lusted. -- lost it. f

1st policy put him at all it's with him at all marco you just heard that cannon fire actually on a juno beach here where the canadians landed and there is a ceremony behind me at the moment so it's very interesting to see these 2 visions of the world but for the time being it presents very much for putting the accent on the homage being paid to the veterans. we know what we. do you over there on. our freedom. on behalf of my nation. i just want to think thank you. for the moment call and donald trump will leave colleville silmaril cemetery and then hate to call the main city in normandy where they will have a working lunch a lot of talk the least say has been quite a positive spin on this saying they're going to be talking about like trade iran what they call a terrorism of the situation the middle east an opportunity to perhaps to reset these this relationship that has become increasingly strained over the past year or so but it's hard to see how that might happen of course because there are still such points of differences emanuel. is frustrated with donald trump to put us out of the

code names of the landing beaches are still etched in history you've got utah omaha gold juno and sword or today's commemorations didn't begin in france but at the english naval base of portsmouth from their d.-day veterans will depart on a ship from normandy. the ceremony commemorated the soldiers who landed in normandy 75 years ago tomorrow weather had forced the one date postponement of the invasion which was supposed to be june 5th 1944 the queen was among those present to honor the operation to liberate western europe from nazi german occupation it is with humility and pleasure on behalf of the entire country indeed the home free world that i see you all think killed more than 160000 allied troops from britain the us and canada set off from england to land on a heavily fortified stretch of french coastline the d.-day invasion was supported by 5000 ships and 13000 aircraft. ron cross and bob jones now both in their ninety's were on board one of those ships. a group that grips. people. that they're in what they do and in the war. of the you think they get up and join me where i am no

channel to normandy and the codenames of the landing beaches are etched in history utah omaha gold the juno and sword all those beaches on that small stretch of sand in normandy well today's commemorations don't begin in france but at the english naval base of portsmouth where d.-day veterans will later today depart in a ship for france did obvious show lots of parts at today's event in portsmouth let's go there now live to date here there's a lot planned at these commemorations today can you give us a taste of what's ahead. so brian portsmouth is the town where many of those allied forces many soldiers left on their journey to normandy and 944 and portsmouth has seen many commemoration ceremonies over the years but this one being the biggest we can expect 16 world leaders attending today including theresa may president donald trump but also all of the royal family from queen elizabeth to prince charles and they will be commemorating this event together with the 300 veterans all now of course over at 90 years old we will see a fly by of modern and historic aircraft here of course something

on juno beach where he filmed some dead canadians of the longshore regiment in the water just near the shore now if you didn't look very closely you wouldn't realise that this was a dead body it's very discreet it's a miniature your cameraman is about 10 feet away from the body and there's lots of other rubbish or flotsam and jetsam in the water so that's the only shot i've come across in all of the night normally coverage shot by the british cameraman that include scenes of a of a dead allied soldier. the americans covered it very differently they were much more candid so the film shot by us signal corps and u.s. marine corps cameraman of the landings that have each show not only dead american soldiers they also show american soldiers being shot obviously a combat record of what happened to d.-day is an authentic record it has great authenticity it was shot at the time who by men who were there at the time who familiar with the surroundings who try to capture all recalled the scenes that they could to the best of their ability they couldn't record sound and all the cameraman all the s

en juno el aÑo pasado el incendio destruyÓ cerca de 500,000 acres en el condado. >>> estamos en la temporadabo un simulacro este fin de semana. >>> el departamento de bomberos enviarÁ una alerta de evacuaciÓn el sÁbado pero esto es solo lo que usted debe saber. se debe poner manos a la obra. >>> autos en llamas, gente desesperada tratando de escapar de un incendio forestal son las imÁgenes aterradoras que los habitantes de la bahÍa llevan en su memoria tras los Últimos e eventos que se vivieron en california. cuando las temperaturas comienzan a subir los residentes de la comunidad deben estar preparados 50 personas se impidier inscri para participar. algunos vecinos expresaron su preocupaciÓn pues sus propiedades estÁn rodeadas de vegetaciÓn. le bomberos recogieron esta zona para el simulacro porque hay muchos Árboles altos y abundante vegetaciÓn con mintien convirti comunidad en una zona de alto riesgo. >>> los bomberos quieren ver con este simulacro quÉ funciona y quÉ no. ademÁs ver cÓmo recen a la gente, vepueden congestions presidente evacuarÁ p a pie. >>> el departamento de bomberos rec

rule is junior on saturday night in a remarkable fight at new york's madison square garden roux is juno floored joshua 4 times on route to a 7th round technical knockout he's now the 1st mexican world heavyweight champ him . and in cycling news richard catto has become the 1st ecuadorian to win the road to talia after coming through the final stage unscathed in verona despite finishing 49 seconds behind his closest rival is liza finch bali carob has held onto his lead in the overall standings to become only the 2nd south american to win the competition in a time of 90 hours one minute and 47 seconds. as a reminder of the top story we're following for you german chancellor angela merkel says she's not planning any changes to the country's governing coalition this after the surprise resignation of under analysis the head of the social democrats plunged her coalition partner into crisis. in a forget you can always get a w. news on the go just download our app from google play or from the apple store and give you access to all the latest news from around the world as well as push notificati

prevent german tanks from counterattacking onto the beach as the allied forces landed in places like juno beach. the stories these men tolls and you gave the number, the line of veterans that exist today and the stories they are able to tell and communicate and serve as role models for the next generation coming up and other generations such as mine, a powerful group of men and women that served in world war ii specifically on d-day. the biggest battle of world war ii changed the tide, saved western civilization and entirely remarkable that yesterday, veterans jumping into the drop zone where they originally jumped in, 75 years ago and the 82nd airborne, the 50th anniversary, a big group of paratroopers jumped in and welcoming from france, they do throw rose petal that your feet and love you as an american soldiers for helping save the country. rob: i imagine the respect you have for this day is tremendous. i cannot even fathom. you think about these stories. these were teenagers, early 20s, kids coming from the united states as american sacrifice goes to places they had never been before

juno beach is where a large contingent of canadian soldiers came in. you said where we are the cemetery overlooks omaha beach, which really was on june 6, 1944, a charter house as the wave after wave of american soldiers came in and were cut down by the german gunners and german artillery as well. cemet some 9400 american soldiers lie in their final rest. the president paying tribute to all of them today as well as 170 veterans who were in their 90s able to make it to their ceremonies today. the president talking about their remarkable bravery and also reiterating the bonds that tie together the united states and the country of france. listen here. >> the gis who board -- boarded the landing craft that morning knew they carried on their shoulders not just the pack of the soldier but the fate of the world. our cherished alliance was forged in the heat of battle, tested in the trials of war and proven in the blessings of peace. emmanuel macron himself paying tribute to the veteran, not only the ones who died but the ones in attendance today presenting th

on juno, rough waters and heavy resistancece by germrman troops inflicted more casualtlties.anageded to land but there advanced toward the city wasas halted by a german counterattack. widely regarded as the offensive that changed the tide of the war, operation overlord was supposed to o be over in three weeks ended up lasting three months. time for a look at the day's business news with brian quinn. start with the potential reckoning g for tech giants as regulators are gearing up for anantitrus i investigatitions. google, facacebook, amazon, and apple e undergoing probes. they decided to split jurisdsdiction. a a top to botottom review heldy giant platfororms. thisis is following years of stricter regulation in europe. >> top tech giants under scrutiny. washington has google, facebook, .pple, and amazon in its sights lawmakers are looking into possible antitrust violations by the leading tech companies. that follows news that regulators are geariring up for investigations. is being shared by the federal trade commission which will take on facebook and amazazon. othersrs will

the british lending followed within an hour at the beach in gold beach, and then they followed in junod beach, and then they followed injuno beach, the combined death toll was it almost 4000, veterans still vividly remember the comments they lost. here's the end of the poem. the battle raged in normandy, many lives we re battle raged in normandy, many lives were lost. the war must end in victory and this must be the cost. when my life is over and i've reached the other side, i will meet my friends from normandy and shake their hands with pride. are french citizens and german citizens were also caught up in the events of d—day, speaking to three people who experienced the events in very different ways. here is her report. what did you think when you first saw the plan? joined the french navy, it became part of an elite unit in preparation for d—day. what do you think your chances of survival were? unguarded with the german army, the first players landed. he was then captured by the allies and taken to scotland as a prisoner of war. and how did you feel about that? 12 when the germans in

utah, omaha, gold, juno, and sword. today's commemorations did not begin in france but at the english naval base of portsmouth. from there, d-day veterans will depart on a ship and head for normandy. >> remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice with drums and the words of the fallen. among the 16 heads of state in attendance, canadian prime minister justin trudedeau, , frh president ememmanuel macron, and just two days before she steps down, british prime minister theresa may all reading letters from soldiers. one was from a soldier who would die two weeks later. another from a member of the resistance who would not survive the war. donald trump read a prayer that was broadcast n nationwide by u. presesident frananklin d roosevt on d-day.. >>>> almighty god, our sons, pre of our nation, this day hath set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion, and our civilization and to set free a suffering humanity. >> many thought the past d-day commemorations to mark the 60th and 70th anniv

let's go live to the commemoration onjuno let's go live to the commemoration on juno beach which let'sch 75 years ago, and also made huge sacrifices as part of the d—day landings. juno beach one of the five beaches and the canadian prime minister is one of the world leaders who has been in northern france today paying tributes. it's been a day when hundreds of veterans have been at a variety of commemorative services in northern france to honour those who helped to liberate europe 75 years ago. and who change the course of the second world war. that is it from the bbc news at five, ina that is it from the bbc news at five, in a moment we will have the bbc news at six. before that let's leave you now with some of the most moving images from today's d—day commemorations. piper plays. last post plays. you can't describe it. lowering the ramp onto bodies of gis, you didn't know whether they were alive or dead. don't say i'm a hero, i'm no hero. i was lucky. i'm here. all the heroes are dead and i'll never forget them as long as i live. good evening, let's look at the weather. after sunshin

than the ones at the chic bouncy rubber expensive day or your your kid's not going to die jungle gym juno and it was good for us to build up immunity to eating lead paint it was good it was good for a kid to learn how to get by without his front teeth it would be. a life lesson the idea that the common good is scary or flawed is so ingrained in our cultural psyche that when i see something like i'm not getting what i do they're like a community garden. but to be free for all to use look at a racket you run into here just because it's hard to get a front for sex trafficking. yeah right pick your own braze all. know not falling for the pick your own baseball gambit how up is it that were skeptical of things that are good or purer or a co-operative that's a messed up society right there i've gotten so accustomed to a culture based on profit and manipulation that if i saw someone like giving away free vegetables on a corner i would cross the street and tell parents like keep their kids away or not watch out there's some sort of free broccoli me thing going on over there i don't know what it i

stretch off the french coast the code names of the landing beaches are etched in history utah omaha gold juno and sword today's commemorations but didn't begin in france but at the english naval base of portsmouth from where d.-day veterans are to depart on a ship for france german chancellor angela merkel also attend the ceremonies there here's what she said. in the military it was a unique military operation unprecedented for us in germany it led also met lead to liberation from national socialism it claimed an unbelievable number of lives hundreds of thousands of soldiers were involved a huge logistical operation. and it was to lead to something that we can be very proud of today namely reconciliation and unity within europe and the whole post-war order that has brought us peace in europe now for more than 7 decades. and the fact that i as a german chancellor can be part of this today that today we are working together for peace and freedom that is a gift of history that we need to protect and maintain. the german chancellor in portsmouth also in portland is a correspondent a band of riga

that was the second coldest juno temperaturen record in the canaan valley. 25 degrees. eun, even i would n complai at 25 degrees. even me. even i've got my limits, like the old moviean a m's got it know his limitions. outside on a wednesday morning, winds have turned back to the south and southwest and theynu contie to increase as well. it will be b aezy day. it will be a lot warmer than yesterday. it'll be a lot more humid than so as a result, likelihood of showers and thunderstorms later on this afternoon. once it gets pastg today rain chances are going down for tomorrow and rain chances are near zero for friday and the weekend. so we'll pay for that, no problem at all. there are a lot of clouds. novere weather yet. that will play a part in our forecast as we rt longe into the day. skies will become more and more cloudy with time. the thinger those clouds are, the mo they hold temperatures down, the more it limits our instability. that also lps to limit any potential for severe weather. you're actually hoping for a cloudier day today. mostly in the 60s. very warm and

further east, a force of more than 84,000 led by britain and canada, landed on gold, juno and sword beaches000 german troops we re of caen. around 75,000 german troops were waiting for them in normandy, but many of them were young and inexperienced. they knew an invasion would come but hadn't expected it until later in the summer, so on d—day they were taken completely by surprise. and they were slow to react. elaborate deception schemes in the months before the invasion convinced many nazi commanders that a second invasion force would also strike elsewhere, so many of their best soldiers and tanks were held back. none could be moved without hitler's direct approval, and he wasn't woken until 10am, hours after the allies had begun to land. such delays help to the invasion force to gaina delays help to the invasion force to gain a significant foothold, but at a high cost. there are no precise figures for casualties on d—day, but it is estimated around 11,000 allied troops were either killed or wounded. german casualties were high as well, between four and 9000 that day. tens of thousands of

and cycling richard got up as just became the 1st ecuadorian to win the juno to talia after the final stage the 26 year old killed over his handlebars with emotion has worn the leader's pink jersey since winning the grueling 14th stage on may 25th the ecuadorian finish the 3 week race one minute 5 seconds ahead of the home favorite vincent joe nobody german golfer martin kaymer is well placed to end his 5 year victory drought going into sunday's final round of the memorial tournament the 2 time major champion held a 2 shot lead over the field after picking up 6 shots in a round of $66.00. tiger woods has fallen out of contention but was still delighting his fans were shots like this from the bunker the players are all looking to find form ahead of the year's 3rd major u.s. open and back to dream thank you very much leo thanks for watching the news hour on al-jazeera more news coming up in just a moment stay with us. capturing a moment in time. snapshots of all the lives. of the stories. provided attempts into someone else's well. inspiring documentaries from impassioned filmmakers and

mainly from the uk, the us, and canada — began landing on five beaches code—named utah, 0maha, gold, junoost of that day, this wave of troops, tanks, and artillery continued to flow onto the beaches in the face of fierce resistance from the german defences. air support was crucial, with over 111,000 missions can carried out by allied forces. not all of the ambitions to take territory on the first day were met, with us forces facing particularly difficult opposition from elite german troops in the west. but a foothold had been achieved, and the battle to liberate northern europe from nazi occupation was under way. some of the sequence of events from d—day itself. as we've heard, more than 250 of the veterans attending the events today here arrived with the royal british legion, onboard the mv boudicca, a specially—chartered cruise. this evening it set sail for france, for tomorrow's memorial service in normandy. 0ur correspondent robert hall has been travelling on board, hearing the recollections of those who took part in the normandy landings 75 years ago. casting off on a port that was c

codenamed, utah, omaha, juno, sword. veterans hand in hand, returning to where it all began. harold collecting sand to take home with him. and strangers walking up to onofrio zicari from las vegas, to say thank you. >> sir, thank you for your service. >> thank you. thank you. >> reporter: 75 years after the bloodshed on this beach. >> this whole beach, whole section, as far as the eye could see, was just men coming ashore, coming ashore. unbelievable. and onofrio had one more wish. >> a lot of graves. look at all the crosses. oh boy. >> reporter: to find the grave of the friend he lost. he still has the photograph of him standing before his friend's grave so long ago. and all these years later, he finds him again. donald e. simmons, who died on june of 6th, 1944. >> he was in the service with me. he got killed. >> reporter: and on the eve of this anniversary, we wondered, has this trip helped? has it brought any closure? >> yeah. it's brought closure because it's brought me to another way of thinking. and it's done a real good thing for me. it's given me a peaceful feeling an

minister as often laid on the canadian prime minister justin trudeau stood side by side in a ceremony at juno beach in normandy. with thousands of canadian troops took part in the invasio. and earlier in the day at the american cemetery in called the soul mass the us president donald trump and the french president emmanuel macron. hey tributes to the american soldiers he fell on that fateful day. menu will measurement green. the end of it they all it unless you [inaudible] judy missy. we know what we owe. do you veterans [inaudible] all freedom. on behalf of my nation. i just want to say thank you. this evening we thank god for the brave sons. of the united kingdom and the united states. who defeated the *-*-? and the *-*- regime. and liberated millions from tyranny. the bond between our nations was forever sealed in that great [inaudible] crusade. i was in my no my phone honoring that the american soldiers and the little kid that from donald trump earlier in the week at at buckingham palace. well earlier i spoke to donate comeau easy he's a political scientist and rice that he told us how he

french coast the names the code names of those landing the beaches are etched in history utah gold juno and sword to discover commemorations didn't begin in france but at the english naval base of portsmouth from where d.-day veterans are to depart on a ship for france correspondent charlotte potts is in portsmouth and joins me now from there shot of the mean part of the commemoration ceremonies have begun there talk us through as to what's happening there. well we're here in parts most and this is the site where thousands of soldiers left for their journey to normandy so you see that the entrance right here and you can imagine how it was like in 944 when all these ships were departing from normandy to fight over the commemorative ceremony is happening right now 16 world leaders are gathered there and they have basically reliving those events of d.-day of this important day that changed the course of history really and the change changed the course of the 2nd world war they were living it with musical performances was beaches we've seen already justin trudeau and donald trump taking the

mainly from the uk, the us, and canada — began landing on five beaches code—named utah, 0maha, gold, junohis wave of troops, tanks, and artillery continued to flow onto the beaches in the face of fierce resistance from the german defences. air support was crucial, with over 14,000 missions can carried out by allied forces. not all of the ambitions to take territory on the first day were met, with us forces facing particularly difficult opposition from elite german troops in the west. but a foothold had been achieved, and the battle to liberate northern europe from nazi occupation was under way. that's how things unfolded. here we are, 75 years later, with more than 250 of the veterans attending the events in portsmouth, arriving with the royal british legion ship. this is the mv boudicca, this specially chartered cruise ship, and in the next hour it will set sail for france, for tomorrow's memorial service in normandy. 0ur correspondent robert hall has been travelling on board, hearing the recollections of those who took part in the normandy landings 75 years ago. heading ashore and stepp

further east, a force of more than 84,000, led by britain and canada, landed on gold, juno and swordcaen. around 75,000 german troops were waiting for them in normandy, but many of them were young and inexperienced. they knew an invasion would come but hadn't expected it until later that summer, so on d—day they were taken completely by surprise. such delays helped the invasion force to gain a significant foothold, but at a high cost. there are no precise figures for casualties on d—day, but it's estimated around 11,000 allied troops were either killed or wounded. german casualties were high too that day, between 4000 and 9000. tens of thousands of french civilians were also killed in the bombing and intense fighting across normandy that continued for almost three months. hundreds of those who arrived on d—day or in the days and weeks afterwards have made their way to normandy for the anniversary. they are all at least 90 years old. robert hall has spent this week with the veterans on theirjourney back to northern france and joins me along the narrow streets, the sound of pipes and d

stretch off the french coast and the code names of those landing beaches are etched in history utah gold juno and sword and today's commemorations didn't begin in france though but at the english naval base of portsmouth from where d.-day veterans are to depart on a ship for france also imports look that is our correspondent shot of parts who has come covering those commemoration ceremonies for us tell us what's been happening there so far to mark the day. yes it was here in. force of the thousands of soldiers who were leaving in 44 you can see the hobbit behind me and this is where the ships were departing from normandy this is also where this commemoration ceremony just took place with 16 leaders there on stage reliving andrea and acting that memory of the day and keeping that memory alive with musical performances the world leaders read poems a diary entries from soldiers in parts of very emotional events and there's also something that concrete that came out of this event a d.-day proclamation from those world leaders to ensure that those horrific events. never be repeated again and that

would have pushed the hose back and forward, the half sunk craft, lots of bodies floating their off juno as well. for so many years, they haven't shared these stories, so to be open and honest today has been a tremendous privilege. a final word, when we think about the prince going to france tomorrow, and really underlining the contribution that has been made today, but also, in a position to really carry that message into normandy tomorrow. he is, and recently, he has become patron of the normandy memorial trust, which is the effort to build a permanent memorial for the uk veterans who sell there. he will get to see the site where that'll be, and he is now her majesty's representative abroad, so it'll be significant to have him there and ta ke significant to have him there and take a message forward and see how thatis take a message forward and see how that is coming on. thank you for joining us. good to have you all with us. as the royal guests are now leaving southsea common, it is the end of our special coverage on this side of the english channel on the 75th anniversary of d—day. to

the french area of normandy now the code names of the beaches are etched in history utah omaha gold juno and sword those beaches in normandy well today's commemorations will begin not in france but in the english port city of portsmouth where d.-day veterans will later today depart in a transport ship for france t w a correspondent for a lot of parts at today's event in portsmouth let's join her there live now there's a lot planned for today where you are there in portsmouth can you fill us in. right so portsmouth is the town where many of those allied forces of those soldiers left on their journey to normandy so there will be a huge ceremony today where 16 world leaders will attend including the royal family from prince charles and queen elizabeth to prince william so all of the royals there and they will celebrate with $300.00 veterans in a commemorative ceremony we will see. crofts flying by modern and historic right here over this celebration area imports miss and 300 veterans will attend they are all over 90 years old and those veterans will later as you mentioned then go on a ship

utah, omaha, gold, juno and sword. and what they did would change the course of the war. harold himmelsbach remembers the wakeup at 3:00 a.m. it was not long after. when you looked around and saw all of those ships, did you think, "this is actually happening?" >> you bet -- yes, i sure did. >> reporter: could you see the beach? >> it was just a couple thousand yards, you know. >> reporter: and then they saw things they will never forget. harold mcmurran, first infantry division. >> first, i was afraid, then i was scared, and then i was numb. the medics was overwhelmed, sometimes wounded themselves. they would try to perform, sometimes they would be in worse shape than the men they was trying to take care of. we all had what we called a buddy and we knew that that buddy would give his life for us and vice versa. >> reporter: onofrio zicari remembers the orders. >> the officers were saying, "let's go in, man. we got to --" i can't even get up, for god's sakes. i mean, it was just fire over your heads all the time. >> reporter: vincent unger, second class signalman in the na

mainly from the uk, the us, and canada, began landing on five beaches code—named utah, 0maha, gold, junoday, this wave of troops, tanks and artillery continued to flow onto the beaches, in the face of fierce resistance from the german defences. air support was crucial, with over 111,000 missions carried out by allied forces. not all of the ambitions to take territory on that first day were met, with us forces facing particularly difficult opposition from elite german troops in the west. but a foothold had been achieved, and the battle to liberate northern europe from nazi occupation was under way. well, as we have heard, more than 250 of the veterans attending the events today here in portsmouth arrived with the royal british legion on board the mv boudicca, especially chartered cruise ship. they will set sail for france for tomorrow's service in normandy and oui’ tomorrow's service in normandy and our correspondent robert hall is travelling on board, hearing the recollections of those who took part in the normandy landings 75 years ago. casting off in a port that was central to the d—da