On a beautiful morning in Normandy today, President Obama paid tribute and honored the 150,000 allied soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy and “gave so much for the survival of liberty at its moment of maximum peril.”
D-Day: President Obama speaking at Omaha Beach
Speaking of the cemetery above Omaha Beach, Obama referred to it as “this sacred place of rest for 9,387 Americans” that should be “seared into the memory” of history.
“Within a week,” Obama said, “the world’s bloodiest beach had become the world’s busiest port. Within a month, 1 million Allied troops thundered through Normandy into Europe.”
French President Francois Holland also spoke at the cemetery before placing a wreath at the main memorial.
Following his address, Obama lunched with over 20 world leaders including the octogenarian Queen Elizabeth II and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. According to officials, Obama and Putin briefly spoke about the situation in Crimea.
D-Day: Google gaffe and wonderful collection
While Obama is in France praising the offensive, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was retreating after having accidentally uploaded a Google Doodle of a Japanese Go player on the D-Day anniversary.
Peter Barron, the search engine’s director of communications, said the company had ” always intended to highlight a new exhibition of imagery and archive material commemorating D-Day on our home page.”
“Unfortunately a technical error crept in and for a short period this morning an international doodle also appeared. We’re sorry for the mistake, and we’re proud to honor those who took part in D-Day,” he added.
And Google is. The company launched a massive new collection as part of its Cultural Institute to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
The exhibit of 470 documents and images includes a top-secret report from General Eisenhower to General Marshall on the progress of the invasion, a copy of the prayer that FDR gave on D-Day and a treasure trove of soldiers who made the landing.
The collection is split into five separate exhibits with multiple viewing options. In order to offer the collection, Google partnered with George C. Marshall Research Foundation, The Imperial War Museum, and Bletchley Park codebreaker center, among other institutions to make the collection as impressive as it is.
