President Donald Trump has lauded the heroism of Americans, "intrepid Aussies" and other Allied service members who took part in the D-Day invasion, saying they "they came wave after wave without question, without hesitation and without complaint."
Trump joined other world leaders at Normandy American Cemetery in France on Thursday to honour those who died and participated in the battle.
Trump also sought to assure allies skittish about relying on the US under his "America first" brand of leadership.
"To all of our friends and partners - our cherished alliance was forged in the heat of battle, tested in the trials of war, and proven in the blessings of peace. Our bond is unbreakable," the president said.
World leaders dwelled on the alliances that were needed to pull off a feat like D-Day. Trump also praised allies for their past work, saying "the full violence of Nazi fury was no match for the full grandeur of British pride."
He also credited the Canadians and the French, along with "the fighting Poles, the tough Norwegians, and the intrepid Aussies."
Under blue skies far quieter than those streaked by gunfire exactly 75 years ago, Trump described the 130,000 service members who took part in the D-Day landings as the "citizens of free and independent nations, united by their duty to their compatriots and to millions yet unborn."
He paid particular attention to the few surviving members of that day who likely are witnessing their final remembrance of arguably the world's most famous battle, singling out a few by telling their personal stories. He described D-Day participants as "among the very greatest Americans who will ever live."
"Those who fought here won a future for our nation. They won the survival of our civilisation and they showed us the way to love, cherish and defend our way of life for many centuries to come," Trump said.
Trump was joined by French President Emmanuel Macron, who told American D-Day veterans that "France doesn't forget" what they sacrificed for his country's liberty from Nazi Germany.
"We know what we owe to you veterans: our freedom," Macron said.
"On behalf of my nation, I just want to say, thank you."
