Vets, families remember Normandy D-Day landings, 72 years on

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — Proud veterans in their 90s and families of fallen soldiers are commemorating the epochal D-Day invasion of Normandy 72 years ago that helped the Allies vanquish Hitler.They held small ceremonies and moments of remembrance Monday along the wide beaches and cliffs where thousands of U.S., British, Canadian and French troops landed as dawn was breaking June 6, 1944. It was a pivotal moment in World War II, weakening the Nazis' hold on Western Europe after they suffered a punishing defeat in Stalingrad in the east.Henry Breton of Augusta, Maine, was among the shrinking number of D-Day survivors to make it to Normandy for Monday's anniversary.Speaking at the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, Breton recalled landing in the second wave of boats, 35 minutes after the first, with the 106th Infantry Division. "We were off target," he said, describing the German counterattack, and ensuing violence and valor he experienced at the Battle of the Bulge
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