
Japan's emperor and his family pray in Okinawa for the victims of the island battle 80 years ago
TOKYO — Japan's Emperor Naruhito and his family prayed on Wednesday in Okinawa for all the war dead in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II that was fought on the southern Japanese island 80 years ago.
The commemoration comes as many residents of Okinawa and the nearby islands are increasingly concerned about the possibility of another war as regional tensions with China escalate.

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Wall Street Journal
26 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Uncle Frank's Dutch Family
Michael Johnson reminds readers that the Dutch beautifully remember the Allies' sacrifice in World War II by adopting gravesites at the Netherlands American Cemetery (Letters, May 28). The wait list for doing so is longer than one year, he notes, 'as most have been adopted and are passed down from one generation to the next.' The tradition is personal for me. In June 2019, after attending the 75th-anniversary commemorations of D-Day in Normandy, France, I travelled to Margraten to visit my great uncle's grave. I was the first in my family to have seen Frank A. Johnson since he departed for Europe in the autumn of 1944. During my visit I was met by Frank's 'adoptive' family: a wonderful husband and wife, who, having never met me before, drove three hours to join me at the site. They both said that if it 'were not for men like your great uncle Frank, we would probably still be speaking German.'


New York Post
33 minutes ago
- New York Post
D-Day veterans gather in Normandy to mark 81st anniversary of pivotal WWII moment
COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France — Veterans gathered Friday in Normandy to mark the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings — a pivotal moment of World War II that eventually led to the collapse of Adolf Hitler's regime. Along the coastline and near the D-Day landing beaches, tens of thousands of onlookers attended the commemorations, which included parachute jumps, flyovers, remembrance ceremonies, parades, and historical reenactments. Many were there to cheer the ever-dwindling number of surviving veterans in their late 90s and older. 7 Attendees share a laugh with 102-year-old WWII and D-Day Landing US veteran Jake Larson, also known as 'Papa Jake', before the memorial ceremony. AFP via Getty Images All remembered the thousands who died. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth commemorated the anniversary of the D-Day landings, in which American soldiers played a leading role, with veterans at the American Cemetery overlooking the shore in the village of Colleville-sur-Mer. French Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu told Hegseth that France knows what it owes to its American allies and the veterans who helped free Europe from the Nazis. 'We don't forget that our oldest allies were there in this grave moment of our history. I say it with deep respect in front of you, veterans, who incarnate this unique friendship between our two countries,' he said. Hegseth said France and the United States should be prepared to fight if danger arises again, and that 'good men are still needed to stand up.' 'Today the United States and France again rally together to confront such threats,' he said, without mentioning a specific enemy. 'Because we strive for peace, we must prepare for war and hopefully deter it.' 7 American reinforcements land on Omaha beach during the Normandy D-Day landings near Vierville sur Mer, France, on June 6, 1944. REUTERS 7 The first wave of troops at Normandy beach taking cover behind enemy obstacles in 1944. AP The June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France used the largest-ever armada of ships, troops, planes and vehicles to breach Hitler's defenses in western Europe. A total of 4,414 Allied troops were killed on D-Day itself. In the ensuing Battle of Normandy, 73,000 Allied forces were killed and 153,000 wounded. The battle — and especially Allied bombings of French villages and cities — killed around 20,000 French civilians between June and August 1944. 7 Larson meets attendees of the memorial celebration. AP 7 Military flyover at D-Day anniversary ceremony in Normandy June 6, 2025. AFP via Getty Images The exact number of German casualties is unknown, but historians estimate between 4,000 and 9,000 men were killed, wounded or missing during the D-Day invasion alone. Nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed on D-Day. Of those, 73,000 were from the U.S. and 83,000 from Britain and Canada. 7 Soldiers wading ashore from a landing craft on June 6th, 1944. AP 7 U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wears socks showing the American flag during the ceremony. AP Forces from several other countries were also involved, including French troops fighting with Gen. Charles de Gaulle. The Allies faced around 50,000 German forces. More than 2 million Allied soldiers, sailors, pilots, medics and other people from a dozen countries were involved in the overall Operation Overlord, the battle to wrest western France from Nazi control that started on D-Day.

Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
What is D-Day? Why German chancellor explained Nazi liberation to Trump
President Donald Trump hosted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for a White House meeting on June 5, the day before the D-Day anniversary. D-Day, the 1944 groundbreaking invasion into Nazi-occupied Europe, helped turn the tide of World War II towards the Allied forces. Trump raised eyebrows at his meeting with Merz when he suggested it was a bad day for Germany. "That was not a pleasant day for you," Trump said. Merz began to respond, but Trump continued: "This was not a great day." "No, that was not a pleasant... well, in the long run, Mr. President, this was the liberation of my country from Nazi dictatorship," Merz said. "That's true," Trump said. "That's true." 'We had a job' to do: Humble veteran, 100, recalls D-Day 81 years later D-Day, also known under the code name Operation Overlord, was the Allied forces' invasion of the beaches at Normandy in what some historians consider to be the largest land, sea and air invasion in history. The Allies brought 160,000 troops, 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft. The invasion occurred on June 6, 1944, more than four years into World War II when the Allied forces, including the U.S., Great Britain, France and Russia hoped to push back against Nazi control of Europe, according to The Allies' win was not decisive. The fierce battle resulted in more than 4,000 Allied soldiers dead and somewhere between 4,000 and 9,000 German soldiers dead, wounded or missing, according to The National D-Day Memorial Foundation. Approximately 200,000 German prisoners of war were captured. Less than a year later, Germany surrendered. Merz is a conservative who took office last month. He came to the White House to talk about a range of issues including trade, increased NATO spending and the Ukraine-Russia war, now in its third year. Overall, the meeting with Merz was amicable. Merz presented Trump with a framed copy of his grandfather Friedrich Trump's German birth certificate from 1869. Some of Trump's meetings with foreign leaders like South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have been more contested. Ahead of Trump's D-Day comment, Merz and Trump talked about hoping to see an end to the Ukraine war. "We know what we owe you, but this is the reason I'm saying that America again is in a very strong position to do something on this war and ending this war," Merz said. "So let's talk about what we can do jointly." Trump also leaned into World War II history in May when he declared May 8 a holiday to commemorate the end of World War II. "All over the World, the Allies are celebrating the Victory we had in World War II. The only Country that doesn't celebrate is the United States of America, and the Victory was only accomplished because of us," Trump said in a post on Truth Social on May 5, days before the proposed holiday. This year was the 80th anniversary of what is known internationally as Victory in Europe (VE) Day, and England, for example, is commemorating the event over four days, according to Reuters. Trump said on May 1 that he wanted to recognize May 8 as "Victory Day for World War II," and Nov. 11 as "Victory Day for World War I." However, Nov. 11 is already federally recognized as Veterans Day. Contributing: Mike Snider, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY; Reuters Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@ Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @ This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump D-Day comments and German chancellor. Meaning of the day