What WWII veteran told Biden as he stood to shake his hand (2024)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Bidenhad an emotional meeting with D-Day veterans ahead of the ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, saluting their service and making jokes with them.

The veterans were in their late teens and early 20s when they stormed the beaches and are now in their late 90s or 100s.

In a lighthearted moment during Thursday's somber event, veteran Robert Gibson, who is 100, told the 81-year-old president: 'Don't get old.'

Another veteran, when he gave Biden a hug, asked him:'When do you sleep?'

Biden gifted each of the men a special challenge coin to mark the occasion.

The coin features:An image of troops approaching the beaches of Normandy and B-17 aircraft flying overhead; The number 9388 etched in the sand, which represents the number of Americans who are buried in the cemetery; and the quotation: 'They also serve who only stand and wait,' which is a line from Milton often used by President Biden to encapsulate the service and sacrifices of military families.

Finally, the Presidential Seal adorned with a blue star and a gold star references the service of military families, the White House said.

This year's D-Day anniversary is thought to be one of the last major anniversaries that will see D-Day veterans attend. The men and women who fought in the conflict are now in their 90s or older. Less than 1% ofof the 16.4 million Americans who served duringWorld War IIare alive today.

Biden was one year old when the invasion took place. It's thought Biden will be the last U.S. president at a major D-Day anniversary event who was alive when D-Day occurred. His predecessor, Donald Trump, was born two years after D-Day.

The president chatted with each veteran and, when he heard it was one's birthday, he rallied everyone in the pavilion to sing happy birthday to him.

Biden met 41 veterans of the Normandy campaign and, of those, 33 were present on D-Day itself. There is a total of180 WWII veterans at the ceremony.

During the meetings, Biden saluted each veteran and shook his hand.

Several of the veterans got up from their wheelchairs to greet the president. Jill Biden offered many a helping hand, supporting them as they stood.

The Bidens spent about 30 minutes with the veterans after they arrived in Normandy on Thursday morning to mark the 80th anniversary of 150,000 allied troops storming of the beaches there.

After their presidential meeting, the veterans were wheeled on stage for the ceremony. The crowd gave them a prolonged standing ovation as they appeared.

In his remarks, Biden will compare the struggle of Europe to defeat the Nazis to the current battle in the Ukraine, where Russian President Vladimir Putin has stepped up his attacks.

'Today, in 2024, 80 years later, we see dictators once again attempting to challenge the order, attempting to march in Europe,' said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

He added that Biden will 'be drawing a throughline from World War II through the Cold War and the stand up of the greatest military alliance the world has ever known, the NATO alliance, to today, where we face once again war in Europe, where NATO has rallied to defend freedom and sovereignty in Europe.'

Biden will speak at theAmerican Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, where there are 9,388 graves of American dead, most ofthem in the form of white Latin crosses.

He'll also meet with American veterans who fought in D-Day. French President Emmanuel Macron will join him at the event.

Additionally, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks will sit front row at the ceremony. Hanks starred in'Saving Private Ryan,' which depicted the D-Day invasion. He and Spielberg produced 'Band of Brothers,' which followed Easy Company through World War II, including its participation in D-Day.

The 172.5 acre cemetery was established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944 as the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II.

A French and American flag decorated each grave site. Many buried there lost their lives on D-Day. There are also names of 1,557 service members inscribed on the Walls of the Missing.

Within the graves are 307 unknown personnel, three Medal of Honor recipients, and four women. Forty-five sets of brothers are commemorated or buried in the cemetery. A father and son are also buried alongside each other.

The cemetery, which sits above Omaha Beach, was quiet in the early morning hours before it was filled with the 10,000 people to mark the anniversary.

Thursday was a sunny, beautiful day - a sharp contrast to the weather 80 years ago, when troops battled the wind and rain to reach the beaches.

The only sounds were the birds in the trees and the waves of the English Channel. A few rabbits ran on the outskirts of the cemetery proper. The area was French farmland before it was gifted to the United States for the burial of American dead.

A Navy destroyer sat off-shore, a single reminder of the6,939 vessels that stormed the beaches 80 years ago. B-52 bombers flew overhead.

The Normandy landings, code named Operation Neptune, was the largest sea, air and land invasion in history. It was the start of the downfall of Adolf Hitler and the defeat of Nazi Germany.

The assault began with Allied aircraft bombing German defenses in Normandy, followed by around 1,200 aircraft that carried airborne troops.

As the sun rose, ships began putting troops ashore on five codenamed beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. By the end of the day, nearly 160,000 Allied troops had landed in Normandy. There were thousands of casualties.

Also on Thursday King Charles and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will part in a ceremony later in the day to honor them and the British troops who also landed on Sword beach, while Prince William will participate in a ceremony for the Canadian troops who landed on Juno beach that will also include Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Later in the day, Biden will join international leaders in marking the solomn anniversary, which comes as the allies show solidarity to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will be among the guests.

It will take place onOmaha Beach, site of some of the heaviest, deadliest fighting between U.S. forces and the German occupiers in France.

Russia was not invited even though the role of the Soviet Red Army played a critical role in the defeat of Hitler. A decade ago, President Vladimir Putin attended the 70th anniversary celebration.

Biden will return to Normandy on Friday to deliver a second speech, this time at Pointe du Hoc, where Army Rangers scaled the cliffs as German gunfire rained down on them.

He will make what the White House is billing as a major speech, where he will warn about the threats to democracy and the rise of dictators.

'It's going to be action packed and, I think, extremely moving,' Sullivan said, adding that it's an 'opportunity for him to say thank you directly to the veterans who saved democracy, saved the free world, and set the stage for the decades of peace and prosperity that followed.'