The emotional exchange, played out on the big screen, drew applause from thousands who gathered on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. The incident quickly aroused reactions on the Internet.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced an American World War II veteran wearing a blue hat to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, sitting in a wheelchair and with a blue blanket covering his legs.
“You are the savior of the people,” Melvin Hurwitz, a 99-year-old Army veteran from Frederick, Maryland, told Zelensky after embracing the Ukrainian leader. “You brought tears to my eyes.”
“No, no, no, you saved Europe,” Zelensky replied.
“You are our hero,” Mr. Hurwitz said as Zelensky knelt next to him for a photo.
“No, you are our hero,” the president responded.
The moment captivated viewers around the world, who focused their attention on the beaches of Normandy and the men who climbed there on June 6, 1944, helping to turn the tide of World War II after five years of conflict. situation. Those who are still alive are now in their 90s or 100s.
When the spotlight shines on these men, it’s remarkable that a veteran expressed similar admiration for the Ukrainian leader who led the resistance to the modern invasion.
Their embrace reflected a bond made clear by President Biden in his speech at the ceremony, in which he cast the allied effort to repel Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the battle for European freedom that unfolded on the beaches of Normandy eighty years ago. an extension of the war.
“We know these heroes fought the forces of darkness 80 years ago,” Biden told a crowd of thousands, including 180 veterans who survived D-Day and are buried near 9,388 U.S. Soldier’s grave.
“They will never fade,” Mr. Biden added. “Aggression and greed, the desire to dominate and control, the desire to change borders by force – these are long-standing. The struggle between dictatorship and freedom is never-ending.
Ms. Hurwitz-Roby said she first learned about her great-uncle’s meeting with Zelensky from a friend, who sent her the video on Thursday. She said Hurwitz came to Normandy on behalf of the Best Defense Foundation, a nonprofit that organizes battlefield gatherings for World War II veterans.
According to the foundation, Mr. Hurwitz was assigned to the U.S. Eighth Air Force and served as a radio gunner on a B-17, a large bomber known as the “Flying Fortress.”
Alain de La Querrier Contributed research.
