Léon Gautier, the last surviving member of the 177-strong Kieffer French commando unit that took part in the June 6th 1944 allied landings on the beaches of German-occupied Normandy, and who lived in retirement in the coastal town of Ouistreham which he had helped liberate, died on Monday at the age of 100.
Two-thirds of the Normandy coastline are eroding through swelling sea levels, including the beaches of the D-Day landings, where the relics of the battle engaged by the largest seaborne invasion in history remain visible, prompting debate over whether, and how, the sites can be protected.
Leon Gautier, 100, who was among 177 French commandos who landed on Norman beaches on June 6th 1944, and who is the only one of them still alive, joined alongside President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday at a ceremony in Normandy marking the 79th anniversary of D-Day.
Léon Gautier was one of 177 French marine commanders chosen to help spearhead the first wave of D-Day landings in Normandy, stepping ashore on June 6, 1944.
The 77th anniversary of the allied D-Day landings in Normandy was, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, without the usual strong contingent of remaining veterans, but a highlight was the unveiling of an imposing seafront memorial to the more than 22,000 troops under British command who died during the three-month campaign to liberate northern France from German occupation.
The traditionally large ceremonies on the Normandy coast to mark the anniversary of the June 6th 1944 D-Day landings, which normally draw vast crowds and the presence of the remaining veterans of the largest seaborne invasion in history, were on Saturday reduced to several small gatherings due to safety restrictions imposed over the Covid-19 pandemic.
