OMAHA BEACH, France (AP) — A U.S. veteran and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared an emotional moment during a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion to liberate France in World War II, with each killing the other praised as a hero.
Retired Staff Sgt. Melvin Hurwitz, 99, and other veterans met Thursday with foreign dignitaries commemorating the Normandy landings. Upon meeting Zelenskyy, Hurwitz kissed the Ukrainian leader’s hand and pulled him in for an extended hug, exclaiming, “Oh, you are the savior of the people!”
A beaming Zelensky responded: “No, no, no, you… you saved Europe.” The watching audience erupted with applause and Hurwitz asked for a photo with the Ukrainian president. He told Zelenskyy that he is praying for him.
The conflict in Ukraine hung over this anniversary, a grim reminder that war has returned to Europe. The Ukrainian president was greeted with a standing ovation and cheers. Russia, a crucial World War II ally that launched a full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbor in 2022, was not invited.
The commemorations for the more than 4,400 Allied deaths on D-Day and many tens of thousands more, including French civilians, who died in the subsequent Battle of Normandy, were peppered with the fear that the lessons of the Second World War are fading.
