'I look at that beach and I can tell you where each was lying... I can still see their faces':Tears of D-Day veterans as they return to Normandy to honour their fallen comrades

• Former soldiers from Britain and the US stood alongside other heroes as they recalled the harrowing day
• Many were seen saluting at gravestones of their friends while others wiped tears from their eyes during speeches
• Harold Baumgarten, 89, from Jacksonville, Florida, was wounded five times in his career, three times on D-Day
• He was a 19-year-old from the Bronx when he jumped off the landing craft on June 6 1944 and headed to the coast
• The veteran, who has been to commemorations for decades, can point out place where bodies lay on the beaches
• Barack Obama, The Queen and Francois Hollande have led the tributes across Normandy

By Wills Robinson

Their chests lined with medals, their faces etched with time, the veterans who risked their lives on the beaches of Normandy 70 years ago stood shoulder to shoulder alongside world leaders today to remember their fallen comrades.
The horror of what they'd lived through, and grief for those who hadn't made it, was all too clear as, from time to time during the service of commemoration in Normandy a veteran wiped his eye with a handkerchief.
Soldiers from Britain and the US stood alongside other heroes as they recalled the harrowing day on the beaches of northern France in 1944.  Many saluted at the gravestones of their friends who fell seven decades ago, while others blinked back tears from their eyes as they listened to speeches.

Emotional: Douglas Turtle, 91, from the Isle of Wight wipes away a tear during the service of commemoration at the D-Day Stone on the Southsea seafront in Portsmouth

Remembering a friend: A veteran raises his hand in salute as he looks down at the grave of his comrade in Bayeux, Normandy

Chelsea pensioner: British Royal Navy veteran Frank Mouque poses before a ceremony in Ouistreham to mark the 70th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy

A number of British veterans attended a service on Southsea Common, Portsmouth, and were then given a heroes reception as they paraded along the sea front.
On the other side of the Channel, British honoured fellow soldiers during a poignant service of remembrance in Normandy attended by the Queen.
At the end of the service, she met some of the veterans who are likely to be making their last visit to the beaches of Normandy.

More...

• 'This tiny sliver of land... changed the course of human history': The Queen and Obama leads tributes to D-Day heroes as world leaders join veterans for emotional return to Normandy beaches
• A royal salute for the fallen heroes of D-Day: Prince Charles and an elegant Duchess of Cornwall join the Queen to pay their respects
• 'Everything is proceeding according to plan. And what a plan!' How Churchill told MPs of the most ambitious operation ever launched as the D-Day landings were still underway
• The British people's greatest day: Cynics will say it's time to move on. But today raise a glass to the sheer ingenuity, courage and bloody mindedness of Britons like Stan Hollis, who turned a potential disaster into awesome victory
• Samantha Cameron walks hand-in-hand with veteran's family member as they attend commemorative service to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings

Among the congregation was Roy Harding, 91, who was a private with No 6 Commando, when he stormed 'Sword Beach', the codename for the easternmost of the five beaches targeted on D-Day, and assaulted by the 3rd British Infantry Division.
The retired barrister, originally from London but now living in Australia, said: 'When I hit the beach there was a man in front of me and a shell landed in the water, he keeled over.

National Pride: The Prince of Wales met veterans during a commemorative service to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings during the Second World War

'Thank you': Prime Minister David Cameron sits down and talks to a British veteran who risked his life on the beaches of Normandy

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall met veterans after attending the Royal British Legion commemoration service in Bayeux, Normandy

'He'd lost an eye and his shoulder was smashed. I wasn't touched, just splashed with water - and I took him to the medics.
'The East Yorkshire Regiment had the job of holding the beach and the commandos came through - they had a terrible time, there were bodies on the beach.'
He fought his way across Europe with his unit in the months following D-Day and reached Germany.
Mr Harding added: 'I shan't be coming over ever again, this is my last trip. I was here for the 65th anniversary and I've been here 12 times.'
George Batts, 88, who was given a speical award by the Prime Minister said: : "For many of us, we have been going on the pilgrimage for 25 to 30 years - and this year it will come to an end.

Memories: Mr Baumgarten,(right), pictured shading his eyes during the commemorations, says he can point out where the bodies of his comrades lay on that fateful day

It's sad but we have got to appreciate our age and we can't keep on going forever. It will be more poignant than ever this year because it will be the last of the big parades and services.
'Some of us, if we are fit enough, will continue to go to Normandy, but we won't go as an association, we will go as individuals.'
Mr Batts considers himself one of 'the lucky ones'. With incredible recall, he described how he landed on Gold Beach, one of the five landing beaches used on D-Day.
He said: 'The noise was fantastic. You've never heard anything like it. The Navy were shooting shells right at the Germans.

Remembering: (from left) Second World War veterans of the US 29th Infantry Division, Hal Baumgarten, 90 from Jacksonville, Flordia, Steve Melnikoff, 94, from Maryland, Don McCarthy, 90 from Rhode Island, and Morley Piper, 90, from Massachusetts, attend a D-Day commemoration, on Omaha Beach

'As they went overhead, they went "whoosh". It sounds silly now, but you were left thinking, 'I hope to God they got the range right'.
'Then we went towards the beaches and when you get there the ramp went down, and away we went to get off the beach into the bit of cover at the back.
'Knowing what war is like, you can imagine what the beaches were like. I won't talk about it because I think it's unfair on relatives to know too much.
'There was a misty haze across the beaches - Germans firing machine guns, rifles - everything was coming in. We got off the beach okay, we lost a few obviously, and then we just kept going for as long as we could or for as far as we could.'

He added: 'The most poignant thing I remember were the ambulances. I will never ever forget the length (of Gold Beach) entrance, which is a mile-long, and was choc-a-block full of ambulances.
'The wounded were taken off to hospitals. A friend of mine was in hospital for two-and-a-half years, and that wasn't unusual.'
As the ex-servicemen remembered the Allied forces who died, many recalled what they confronted during the greatest military invasion in history.
Retired doctor and author Harold Baumgarten, 89, of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, has returned to Normandy many times over the decades.
'I landed on this beach in the first wave and I got wounded five times - three times on D-Day and twice on June 7th,' said Baumgarten. 'I had to stop. I ran out of blood.'
In interviews this week in Normandy, Baumgarten and other 29th Division vets described in vivid detail their memories of that morning 70 years ago.

Celebrated: As veterans as paraded along the beach, the crowd either side of them perform a heroes welcome

Will never forget: Normandy veteran Gordon Drabble, 89, from Sheffield, recently awarded the Legion D'Honeur, plants a wooden cross at the grave of a fallen comrade

Baumgarten was a 19-year-old from the Bronx when he jumped off a landing craft into the surf and waded into France, passing the bodies of soldiers whose war had ended there.
'I can look out at that beach and tell you where each was lying and I can describe his face even nowadays,' Baumgarten said.
Another 29th Division veteran also paid tribute to 'those guys on the bluff' - referring to the 9,387 men killed during the battles in the summer of 1944 who are buried at the nearby US cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer.
'They're the ones that are responsible for guys like me and the rest of the vets you see to get back home,' said Steven Melnikoff, 94.
They paid the price. They are the heroes,' said Melnikoff, of Cockeysville, Maryland. 'We have a lot of people with a lot of ribbons but those guys probably didn't get a single ribbon. But those are the guys I come back for.'
French President Franois Hollande also paid tribute to the American dead.
'France will never forget what it owes these soldiers, what it owes the United States,' Hollande said at the cemetery.
'Vive l'Amerique, vive la France, and long live the memory of those who fell here for our liberty.'
In all, 19 world leaders, more than 1,000 veterans and many others have gathered to honor the troops and civilians who fell in mighty battles that helped bring Europe peace and unity. 

Recollection: A British D-Day veteran walks through rows of graves before a service of remembrance at Bayeux Cemetery

Walk of remembrance: A former British soldier walks along the rows of gravestones at the Bayeux cemetery in Normandy

Together: Veterans sit and read the ceremony programme as they await the arrival of The Queen, Prince Charles, The Duke of Edinburgh and The Duchess of Cornwall

Looking back: The ceremony at the Commonwealth War Graves in Bayeux overwhelms one of the veterans (left) while another soldier looks at the grave of a comrade

Tribute: Ken Scott, 98, who was an infantry sergeant with the Durham Light Infantry on Gold Beach on D-Day, looks at headstones a service in Bayeux

Back together: Members of the 16th Walsall Branch of the Normandy Veteran's Association (left to right) Sgt Ken Reynolds, 90, Able Seaman Ronald Davies, 88, Signalman Gordon Poole, 89, Sub Lt Rnbr Geoff Ensor, 90 and Corporal Frank Corbett, 93, arrive in Caen, France, to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings

Standing tall: Bob Gale, 91, who went ashore at Gold beach looks on proudly at Southsea beach in Hampshire after a commemoration at the D-Day Stone

Presidential grasp: Two veterans smile as they sit beside Barack Obama during a ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery

Laughing: Barack Obama shakes the hands of veterans stationed along the red carpet as he attends the commemoration ceremony at Ouistreham

'I served with you': Prince Philip shakes hand of fellow Second World War sailor as they remember the D-Day fallen

Moment to remember: Leonard Bloomfield tells The Duke of Edinburgh about the time they served together during the siege of Malta in 1940

For 92-year-old Leonard Bloomfield, this may be the last time he can revisit the shores of Normandy.
So, on his final journey to northern France, the former Marine was fortunate enough to bump into one of his former comrades - Prince Philip
As he walked through crowds of veterans at the Bayeux Cemetery in Normandy, he began speaking to Mr Bloomfield, who said: 'I served with you in Malta in May and June 1940.'
They then had a short conversation before The Duke of Edinburgh carried on congratulating the former soldiers.
The pair were involved in a battle for the Mediterranean island against Hitler's forces.
On D-day, Mr Bloomfield was positioned in the English Channel providing artillery support to the landing ships on Sword Beach.
From his position on the cruiser, he witnessed the devastation on the beaches and praised the air support which came over – 500 aeroplanes providing support to the land and sea attack.
Later on in the day, he was confronted by Prime Minister David Cameron.
Mr Bloomfield added: 'He was delighted to see me and ask about my medals.
'I just said thank you.'
Mr Bloomfield served in the Royal Marines, joining the corps in March 1939.
Throughout the Second World War he served all over the world including the Arctic Circle, Africa and the Mediterranean.
He was off the coast of Sicily when he witnessed the dive bombing of Talamba Hospital Ship, used to treat and evacuate personnel, by enemy aircraft.
After two years away, Mr Bloomfield returned to the UK with his fleet to prepare for D-Day in August 1943.
He had some time to see his wife and family before the campaign got underway.
HMS Mauritius kept up a continuous bombardment of German position and could fire with 4 and 6 inch guns as far inland as Caen. The cruiser was in position from 6 June to 23 August.
Following the Normandy landings, Len returned home to continue working with the Navy in a land based job and was able to spend time with his family. He is the proud recipient of 6 campaign stars, including the most recently awarded Arctic Star (2013).

Reunited today: Leonard Bloomfield, 92, pictured as a young man, served alongside Prince Philip, also 92 and pictured right in his youth, in Malta in the summer of 1940

'Heroes, every one': A Norwegian Second World War veteran is cheered at joint French-Norwegian D-Day commemoration ceremony in Hermanville-sur-Mer in Normandy

The Queen joins Obama to pay tribute on a day of remembrance

This morning the Queen led tributes to the 'immense and heroic endeavour' of the 150,000 Allied troops who stormed the beaches of Nazi-occupied France on D-Day 70 years ago today.

Surrounded by thousands of war graves, Her Majesty bowed as she laid a wreath during a poignant service of remembrance in Bayeux, the first town in Normandy to be freed from Hitler's grip after the invasion on June 6 1944.

She thanked the gathered veterans at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery and said it was 'an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and the incredible sacrifices that were made'.

Ten miles away U.S. President Barack Obama spoke at the American War Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer where almost 10,000 U.S troops who died in the Second World War are buried.

Flanked by war heroes, President Obama said they and their comrades 'turned the tide in that common struggle for freedom' on D-Day.

Respect: On the 70th anniversary of D-Day the Queen takes a moment to bow her head in front of a memorial at the British War Cemetery of Bayeux in Normandy today

International pose: President Barack Obama (front left) and French President Francois Hollande (middle) stand with The Queen (second left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (front right) and David Cameron (back left) for a photo outside the Chateau Benouville

Backdrop: With their backs to the cameras, President Hollande and Barack Obama look over Omaha Beach out to the English Channel. Seventy years ago the landscape would have been filled with thousands of Allied vessels and the sand covered in fighting soldiers

Dawn chorus: A lone piper plays a lament on Gold Beach as landing craft from the Royal Marines arrive at Arromanches Les Bains at the moment the D-Day landings began 70 years ago today

'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.

'More than 150,000 soldiers set off towards this tiny sliver of sand on which not just the direction of the war hung, rather the course the human history'.

He added that the American commitment to liberty that is 'written in blood' on the beaches of Normandy and would 'endure' and continue.

THE QUEEN'S MESSAGE TO THE WORLD AS WE REMEMBER D-DAY

'I am very pleased to be able to join veterans here in Normandy to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

'On June 6 1944 after months of planning and training, the largest amphibious assault in history was launched to secure freedom in Europe.

'Hundreds of thousands of servicemen made the journey across the Channel by sea and air, and through their brave actions and dogged determination, established a vital foothold in occupied Europe.

'This immense and heroic endeavour brought the end of the Second World War within reach.

'I am sure that these commemorations will provide veterans of the conflict and their families gathered here in France, along with their hosts, the people of Normandy, with an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and the incredible sacrifices that were made.'

He described D-Day's violent scene in vivid terms, recalling that 'by daybreak, blood soaked the water' and 'thousands of rounds bit into flesh and sand.'

'We come to remember why America and our allies gave so much for the survival of liberty at its moment of maximum peril,' Obama said.

'And we come to tell the story of the men and women who did it, so that it remains seared into the memory of the future world.

'These men waged war so that we might know peace.

'They sacrificed so that we might be free. They fought in hopes of a day when we'd no longer need to fight. We are grateful to them.'

At daybreak veterans who stormed the beaches of Normandy exactly 70 years ago today saluted towards the English Channel at dawn to mark the moment they and their friends started the D-Day assault. 

Beaches that in 1944 were being pulverised by shells and gunfire and strewn with the brave wounded and dying were silent this morning as men who fought and survived remembered those who lost their lives in Nazi-occupied France.

They stared out to sea and the empty horizon, which 70 years ago would have been swamped by landing crafts and ships filled with brave men.

A day of international commemorations of history's biggest amphibious invasion was started at just after midnight with a vigil at the Pegasus Bridge, marking the first assault of the D-Day invasion when Allied soldiers landed in the dead of night exactly 70 years ago.

At 12.16am a team of six Horsa gliders carrying 181 men from the Glider Pilot Regiment and the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, landed silently to capture the strategically-vital bridge and another nearby, paving the way for soldiers landing on the Normandy beaches to move inland and reinforce their airborne colleagues.

To mark that moment fireworks burst into the night sky as hundreds watched on. 

Attending the midnight vigil at Pegasus Bridge, Prime Minister David Cameron said: 'People of my generation just find it hard to believe what people of my grandfather's generation did to ensure we can all live in freedom.

'When you hear the stories of the people coming back again in their nineties of what they did and how brave they were, how many people they lost, it just is incredibly humbling.

Royal arrival: The Queen stands on stage at the French-British joint ceremony at Bayeux to remember the soldiers who fell on the beaches of Normandy

Reaction: Prince Philip appeared emotional as he listened to speeches at the cemetery where nearly 4,000 former British soldiers are buried

Mother and son: Prince Charles and The Queen share a moment together in the midst of the commemoration ceremony in Bayeux

Leaders: (from left to right) Governor-General of New Zealand Jerry Mateparae, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott lay wreaths during a bi-national France-UK D-Day commemoration ceremony

Greeting: The Queen raises a smile as she talks to a veteran while walking through the grounds of the British War Cemetery

Royal guest: Holding a brochure, she continues talking to a group of former soldiers who risked their lives on June 6 1944

Front row: David Cameron sits alongside his wife Samantha during the bi-national ceremony at the British War Ceremony in Bayeux

Message: Prince Charles delivers a speech from a podium alongside the tall memorial to Britain's fallen troops

Flypast: Four planes soar over the British War Cemetery in Bayeux where The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall paid respects to fallen soldiers

British veterans of the D-Day landings honoured their fallen comrades during a poignant service of remembrance in Normandy attended by the Queen.

Surrounded by war graves, old soldiers, sailors and airmen gathered with senior members of the Royal Family and Prime Minister David Cameron in the town of Bayeux to pay their respects.

'We come to remember why America and our allies gave so much for the survival of liberty at its moment of maximum peril.

'And we come to tell the story of the men and women who did it, so that it remains seared into the memory of the future world.

'These men waged war so that we might know peace. They sacrificed so that we might be free. They fought in hopes of a day when we'd no longer need to fight. We are grateful to them'

 - U.S. President Barack Obama

Bayeux, a quiet French town close to the coast, was the first to be freed from Nazi control during the campaign.

The town's military graveyard was a fitting place to stage the open-air service as it is the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery of the Second World War in France, with more than 4,000 burials.

In bright summer sunshine the service of hymns and prayers was staged with military clergy conducting proceedings.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, on a three-day state visit to France, were joined by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.

Mr Cameron was accompanied by his wife Samantha and the couple had attended an earlier Royal British Legion service of remembrance at Bayeux Cathedral with Charles and Camilla and veterans.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband were among the congregation for the open-air service at the cemetery as was Foreign Secretary William Hague and Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Moments after the Queen arrived a fly-past of historic aircraft - two Spitfires, a Dakota and a Lancaster bomber - roared overhead as they flew in formation.

At the start of the service the Reverend Patrick Irwin, the Royal British Legion Chaplain to Normandy, told the congregation: 'Here in this cemetery we are reminded of the true cost of D-Day whose 70th anniversary we mark today.

'We pay tribute to the dead and welcome enthusiastically the veterans for whose courage and devotion we are most grateful.

'This is a British cemetery and most of the graves in this place are British but D-Day involved many nations and many nations are represented here.'

THE GREAT ESCAPE: HOW 89-YEAR-OLD VETERAN DEFIED HIS CARE HOME BAN TO BE IN NORMANDY FOR D-DAY

An 89-year-old veteran reported missing from a nursing home was found in France marking the anniversary of the D-Day landings.
The pensioner, who left wearing his war medals, has contacted the home and said his friends will make sure he gets back safely when the commemorations end.

Sussex Police were called at 7.15pm yesterday by staff at a nursing home in Hove who said an 89-year-old who lived there had gone out at 10.30am and had not been seen since.

He had gone out wearing a grey mac and a jacket underneath with his war medals on, police said.

Derring do: The 89-year-old was reported missing to police in Hove last night, but police discovered he had gone to Normandy against the wishes of his care home

Officers began searching the area, including checking hospitals in case something had happened to him, and spoke to bus and taxi companies, but none of them knew where he was.

The nursing home received a phone call from a younger veteran from Brighton at 10.30pm who said he had met the pensioner on a coach on the way to France and that they were safe and well in a hotel in Ouistreham.

In a statement, Sussex Police added: 'We have spoken to the veteran who called the home today and are satisfied that the pensioner is fine and that his friends are going to ensure he gets back to Hove safely over the next couple of days after the D-Day celebrations finish.

'Once the pensioner is home we will go and have a chat with him to check he is OK.'

Chief Superintendent Nev Kemp, Police Commander for the City of Brighton & Hove, also tweeted: 'Love this:89yr old veteran reported missing by care home who said he can't go to Normandy for £DDay70 remembrance. We've found him there!'
Sussex Police said they would not be naming the man or the nursing home.

Escort: The Queen is taken to the stage after arriving at the British War Cemetery (left). Prince Charles looks on as the Royal party arrives for the ceremony (right)

Gaze: Prince Charles, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Queen and Minister Manuel Valls look up at the memorial as they step out of their car

Pleased to meet you: The Queen shakes the hand of a veteran who invaded the beaches of Normandy

Awning: Under the shade of a tent, The Duke of Edinburgh, Manuel Valls, The Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla look out over the grass to the memorial

Reading: The Royal guests bow their heads to look at the ceremony's programme while Manuel Valls looks into the crowds