(CNN) President Barack Obama paid tribute Friday to the U.S. service members who defied every danger to pour onto the beaches of Normandy 70 years ago in defense of liberty.
His remarks at the American Cemetery in Colleville sur Mer which overlooks Omaha Beach where so many fell are part of a series of solemn events to commemorate the D Day landings in northern France.
Chief among them is an elaborate international ceremony on the stretch code named Sword Beach in Ouistreham for which world leaders and veterans took places in stands set up on the sand.
As the ceremony got under way under brilliant sunshine military bands marched on a map of the globe laid out across the golden strand in front of French President Francois Hollande.
Hollande then spoke of the bravery of the young men who waded ashore under a deluge of German fire seven decades earlier through waters turned red with blood hailing them all as heroes.
D Day by the numbers D Day by the numbers American troops storm the beaches of Normandy France on June 6 1944. D Day was the largest seaborne invasion in history. More than 150 000 Allied troops about half of them Americans invaded Western Europe overwhelming German forces in an operation that proved to be a turning point in World War II. U.S. troops wait to disembark a landing craft on D Day. American troops help their injured comrades after their landing craft was fired upon. Allied forces secured the beaches at a cost of about 10 000 casualties. French commandos equipped with bicycles disembark from their landing craft after Allied forces stormed the Normandy beaches. Germans rained mortars and artillery down on Allied troops killing many before they could even get out of their boats. Fighting was especially fierce at Omaha Beach where Nazi fighters nearly wiped out the first wave of invading forces and left the survivors struggling for cover. The British Army's 50th Infantry Division lands on beaches in Normandy. This photograph is part of an exhibit in London at the Imperial War Museum. An aerial view shows 32 intentionally sunk American merchant ships that served as a breakwater as well as anti aircraft platforms. Traffic builds up on the beach and on the road leading to Le Hamel France during the landing of the 50th Infantry Division. U.S. troops and vehicles are ready to disembark. D Day was one of history's most consequential and gut wrenching battles. A sign outside of Trinity Church in New York invites worshippers to pray for Allied victory in the D Day invasion. Commandos with the Royal Navy's 4th Special Service Brigade advance to Juno Beach at Saint Aubin sur mer. Lance Cpl. Walter Ray of the British Army shares a bottle of rum he found floating in the sea. U.S. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower left supreme commander of the Allied forces and British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery right discuss plans at an undisclosed location in June 1944. The Allies went to elaborate lengths to maintain secrecy and mislead Adolf Hitler. They employed double agents and used decoy tanks and phony bases in England to hide actual troop movements. Eisenhower gives the order of the day to paratroopers in England. Full victory nothing else was the command just before they boarded their planes to participate in the first wave. The invasion code named Operation Overlord had been brewing for more than two years. British troops pose for a photograph with a French woman in La Breche d'Hermanville. U.S. troops huddle behind the protective front of their landing craft as it nears a beachhead. Smoke in the background is naval gunfire giving cover to troops on land. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Photos The Allied invasion of Normandy Obama pays tribute to D Day veterans D Day By the numbersI want to express my gratitude to all the fighters who are no longer here he said going on to list the American British Canadian Polish Belgian and other forces that took part. He paid tribute too to the many Russians who died during World War II and to the German victims of the Nazi regime.
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The Allied forces' sacrifice allowed Europe to live in security today Hollande said in a speech that also highlighted the challenges the world now faces.
It was followed by a dance performance depicting the occupation liberation and post war reconstruction of Europe.
The D Day landings in which mainly British U.S. and Canadian troops invaded Nazi occupied France were a turning point in World War II.
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Obama speaking earlier at the American Cemetery said he was honored to be there to pay tribute to the men and women of a generation who defied every danger among them our veterans of D Day.
Lengthy applause rang out as the U.S. President said he was humbled by the presence of some of those veterans at the ceremony.
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Here we don't just commemorate victory as proud of that victory as we are we don't just honor sacrifice as grateful as the world is we come to remember why America and our allies gave so much for the survival of liberty at this moment of maximum peril Obama said.
Their story should remain seared into the memory of a future world he said describing Normandy as democracy's beachhead.
He said It was here on these shores that the tide was turned in that common struggle for freedom.
What more powerful manifestation of America's commitment to human freedom than the sight of wave after wave of young men boarding those boats to liberate people they'd never met
After the poignant ceremony Obama and Hollande moved among the veterans and military officials shaking hands and thanking them for their service.
The cemetery which sits on a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach and the English Channel contains the graves of 9 387 U.S. servicemen most of whom lost their lives in the D Day landings.
Omaha was the deadliest of the landing sites because German forces were able to fire from fortified positions on the cliffs above as the first waves of soldiers reached the shore.
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A lunch for world leaders and veterans hosted by Hollande before the Sword Beach ceremony was the scene of an impromptu meeting between Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
G.I. Tony Vaccaro carried a camera as well as a gun when he landed in Normandy in June 1944 as part of the Allied Invasion Force. Vaccaro was a member of the 83rd Infantry Division. His commanding officer gave him permission to take photographs of the unit's experiences during the war. His close relationship with many of the people he photographed means his pictures are particularly intimate and candid. He took more than 8 000 photographs following the progress of his unit from the beaches of Normandy to Berlin. The images show the fighting ... ... and the devastation it left behind. An exhibition of Vaccaro's photos Shots of War is on display at the Caen Memorial a stone's throw from Omaha Beach as part of the 70th anniversary of D Day. After the war Vaccaro became a professional portrait photographer taking pictures of stars including Charlie Chaplin Marlene Dietrich and Pablo Picasso. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tony Vaccaro The soldier armed with a camera Vet recalls 'Saving Private Ryan' battle German soldier reflects on Normandy D Day Russia's sacrificeThe pair spoke on the margins of the lunch in what Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said was an informal conversation not a formal bilateral meeting. It lasted 10 to 15 minutes he said.
Obama and Putin have been at loggerheads in recent weeks over Russian actions in Ukraine and the pair were not seated next to each other for lunch.
The run up to the commemorations has been dominated by the crisis in Ukraine which has sparked the worst East West tensions since the end of the Cold War.
Putin and Ukrainian President elect Petro Poroshenko also talked briefly before the leaders went in to lunch in Benouville with German Chancellor Angela Merkel standing between the two as they spoke.
G7 leaders have urged Putin to engage with Poroshenko who will be inaugurated Saturday as Ukraine's legitimate leader and take steps to ease the pro Russia separatist unrest roiling eastern Ukraine.
Putin was excluded from a meeting of G7 leaders held this week in Brussels Belgium as part of measures to sanction Moscow over its annexation in March of Ukraine's Crimea region.
Speaking after the summit Thursday Obama said the G7 nations were united in their support of Ukraine and urged Putin to take steps to deescalate the pro Russian separatist unrest in the country's east.
Putin has a chance to get back into a lane of international law Obama said.
But for this to happen he said Putin must take steps over the coming weeks that include engaging with Ukraine's new President stopping the flow of weapons over the border into Ukraine and ceasing Russian support for pro Russian separatists in Ukraine.
Obama made clear that a failure to take these steps would only deepen Russia's isolation. If Russia does take the opportunity to recognize and work with the new government in Kiev he indicated that there could be openings to reduce tensions.
'Touching' commemoration
More than 156 000 troops crossed the English Channel during the D Day invasion on June 6 1944. Nearly 10 000 Allied troops were killed or wounded.
Nicholas Soames grandson of Britain's wartime leader Winston Churchill said it was very touching that so many people had come to take part in what will probably be the last commemoration of the D Day landings on this scale since those who survived are now in their 80s and 90s.
Nearly 1 000 veterans have traveled to France to take part in the events according to the French government.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is the only living head of state who served in World War II working as a mechanic and military truck driver in the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service.
Earlier Hollande spoke at a war memorial in the city of Caen at a ceremony to honor civilian victims and paid tribute to all those killed in the conflict.
He recalled the strength of heart and bravery of those who helped to liberate France from Nazi Germany as well as the many victims in Normandy more of them civilians than soldiers.
Although the war may be long over in Normandy Hollande said the war is still here in this tumultuous uncertain and sometimes threatening world and in all wars it is civilians who pay a heavy price.
The Queen Prince Philip and Prince Charles took part in a ceremony at the British War Cemetery in Bayeux the largest of the Commonwealth cemeteries in France.
Further along the French coast in Arromanches the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge William and Kate attended a tea party for veterans and each royal spoke separately with the silver haired and beret attired honorees.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was also in Normandy to honor the Canadian forces that stormed Juno Beach 70 years ago.
It is a source of enormous national pride that Canadians played such a pivotal role in ensuring the success of the D Day landings he said in a statement.
We are also deeply humbled by the enormous sacrifices made by our fellow citizens who with grim determination stood shoulder to shoulder with like minded allies to fight evil.
A fireworks display was staged Thursday night along the Normandy coastline where the landings took place.
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CNN's Michael Martinez Jeff Kepnes Max Foster and Christiane Amanpour contributed to this report.
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