Among the commemorations in remembrance of the landings that took place on June 6 1944, five hundred paratroopers jumped from Dakota C-47's before hundreds of spectators as they watched them descend over a site near Sainte Mere Eglise, Normandy.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said Gerald Howarth, a junior defence minister, attended a wreath-laying service at the cathedral in Bayeux, before paying his respects at the British military cemetery.
One man who paid tribute, 87 year old Piper - Bill Millin, commonly known as Piper Bill, braved enemy fire on Sword Beach in Normandy to play “Highland Laddie” on his bagpipes repeatedly to boost morale among the landing troops. But many British people have been left feeling ashamed when French fund-raisers condemned the British as "mean" after less than ten people donated money for a statue honouring Piper Bill, one of one of the few living heroes of D-Day.
Admiral Mullen, the US military's top officer, commented on the men and women returning from today's conflict zones, where many bear the invisible psychological wounds of war.
"They, too, have seen and done things we cannot know," he said.
"Their lives, too, are forever changed. And just as previous generations of heroes did, they must likewise adjust themselves to peace."
"Our young troops and their families today still want the same things they looked forward to when they left."
"A job, an education, a home and a better life for their children. We must take care of them, reach out to them, seek to understand them so they do not suffer in quiet desperation."
