Trump hails partners in D-Day ceremony

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France -- President Donald Trump, who has at times questioned the value of NATO and other institutions emerging from World War II, paid tribute on the 75th anniversary of D-Day to the "cherished alliance" forged in battle by the U.S. and partner nations. To aging warriors gathered on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach, he said, "Our debt to you is everlasting.

"Those who fought here won a future for our nation. They won the survival of our civilization, and they showed us the way to love, cherish and defend our way of life for many centuries to come."

He added: "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."

Trump praised allies for their contributions at Normandy, 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."

Trump described some 130,000 service members who took part in the D-Day landing as the "citizens of free and independent nations, united by their duty to their compatriots and to millions yet unborn."

The president paid particular attention to the few surviving veterans from that day who were likely to be attending their final remembrance of arguably the world's most famous battle. He told their personal stories of heroism and described D-Day participants as "among the very greatest Americans who will ever live."

What has been described as America's "greatest generation" has been no less extraordinary in peace, Trump said, crediting them for building a "national culture that inspired the entire world."