A few hundred service members and other guests gathered near a famed 100-foot cliff in Normandy on Wednesday, where 80 years ago, one of the most daring and dangerous missions of World War II took place.

Martin “Marty” Sylvester didn’t find things so bad at Utah Beach when he landed on June 7, 1944, the day after D-Day. His life would get a lot worse.

A group of nearly 70 World War II veterans visited Omaha Beach as part of what is likely to be the last major set of D-Day commemorations with large numbers of veterans in attendance.

Among the roughly 9,400 graves at Normandy American Cemetery are those of four women: Mary Bankston, Mary Barlow, Dolores Browne and Elizabeth Richardson. They’re a reminder of the less-heralded roles American women played overseas during World War II.

American military leaders past and present were on hand Monday to unveil a statue of Dwight D. Eisenhower in the heart of a small village in Normandy, nine miles from the World War II landing site at Utah Beach.

World War II veterans exchanged hugs and handshakes with an enthusiastic crowd of officials and high school students who greeted them as they arrived in Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

Soldiers with the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division commemorating the impending 80th anniversary of D-Day jumped out of helicopters Sunday and attacked mock targets in a display that showcased the present while paying homage to the past.

The 20 soldiers from the town and county of Bedford, Va., suffered the nation’s highest known per capita D-Day loss, according to the National D-Day Memorial. Known as the “Bedford Boys,” the community still feels the loss 80 years later.

About 60 World War II veterans are among a group traveling to France to attend the June 6 ceremonies honoring the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Each of the veterans, regardless of the role that they played in the defeat of fascism or where they served, has a story to tell.

A dress rehearsal for the D-Day assault on Utah Beach cost the 4th Infantry Division and associated units nearly four times as many lives as they lost in the landing itself five weeks later.