France's last surviving D-Day commando joins 79th anniversary commemorations

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Leon Gautier, the past surviving subordinate of the French commandos who stormed the Normandy beaches defended by Hitler's troops successful 1944, connected Tuesday joined President Emmanuel Macron astatine a seafront ceremonial marking the 79th day of the D-Day landings.

Issued on: 06/06/2023 - 16:46

1 min

French WWII seasoned of the Commando Kieffer Leon Gautier attends a ceremonial successful tribute to the 177 French members of the "Commando Kieffer" Fusiliers Marins commando portion who took portion successful the Normandy landings, arsenic portion of the 79th day of D-Day, successful Colleville-Montgomery, Normandy, Tuesday, June 6, 2023.

Gautier, 100, presented a pupil marine commando with his greenish beret astatine a passing retired parade astatine Colleville-Montgomery, adjacent wherever a 17-year-old Gautier had landed connected Sword Beach successful a hail of force fire.

Gautier was 1 of 177 French greenish berets nether the bid of Captain Philippe Kieffer who took portion successful the Normandy landings. More than 150,000 allied troops invaded France to thrust retired Nazi Germany forces.

>> Read much : Léon Gautier, infatigable héraut de la mémoire du Débarquement du 6 juin 1944

At Tuesday's ceremony, the young marine knelt down connected 1 genu to let Gautier, sat successful a wheelchair to Macron's side, to straighten his beret.

In 2019, Gautier recounted on the juncture of the 75th D-Day anniversary however French troops had been the archetypal to wade chest-deep onto Sword Beach.

"Your honour," Gautier recalled British Colonel Robert Dawson telling the French greenish berets. "We went successful lone a fewer seconds ahead. It was a symbolic gesture."

"By the extremity of the day I didn’t person galore bullets left."

(Reuters)

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