The French Embassy in Washington in May celebrated two pivotal events in France’s – and the world’s – history: the 79th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe and the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy.
A handful of World War II veterans were among the guests of honor at both events, one of which – the D-Day commemoration – was held on the grounds of French Ambassador Laurent Bili’s residence in Washington on May 7. It included a narrated reenactment of U.S. troops landing on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944, to their victorious march into Paris, which was liberated from Nazi Germany two months later.
Other guests of honor were former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC). The pair are co-chairs of the Congressional French Caucus.
The French Embassy choir sang France’s national anthem, La Marseillaise, to depict the happiness felt as the war drew to a close and France was liberated, the embassy said in a statement.
The evening was sponsored by Delta Airlines, Engie, GE Aerospace, Saint-Gobain, Airbus, Arianespace, Thales, BNP Paribas, Alstom, Michelin, Orano, Schneider Electric, Total Energies and Safran.
The U.S. National Park Service hosted a gathering at the World War II memorial on the National Mall the following day, to mark the 79th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe.
In addition to Ambassador Bili and veterans of World War II, Ambassador of Ukraine Oksana Markarova attended the gathering. Against the backdrop of the Lincoln Memorial in the distance, French Defense Attaché Maj. Gen. Bertrand Jardin presented seven members of the U.S. military with medals in recognition of their service
At least 8 million Ukrainians – around 5.6 million civilians and more than 2.5 million Ukrainian troops fighting in the Soviet Red Army – died in World War II, according to data available to Ukrainian researchers. Ukraine was a Soviet Republic at the time, and some data in Russia’s archives has not been released to non-Russian researchers.
France lost half a million civilians and troops in the war, and solely between D-Day and Victory in Europe Day on May 8, 1945, nearly 105,000 U.S. troops were killed in action in the European theater.