France Gets Ready to Say ‘Merci’ to World War II Veterans for D-day’s 80th Anniversary This Year

U.S. reinforcements wade through the surf from a landing craft in the days following D-Day and the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France at Normandy in June 1944 during World War II. Bert Brandt/Pool via AP

PARIS—France is getting ready to show its gratitude toward World War II veterans who will return, many for the last time, to Normandy beaches this year for 80th anniversary commemorations of D-Day to mark the defeat of the Nazis.

A ceremony at Omaha Beach, with many heads of state expected to be present, will be honoring the nearly 160,000 troops from Britain, the U.S., Canada, and other nations who landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944.