Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg attend the D-Day commemoration event
Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg were photographed on Thursday, June 6, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
Tom Hanks, 67, and the veteran director, 77, were spotted chatting at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, overlooking Omaha Beach in Normandy, France.
Spielberg and the Hollywood actor appeared to be in a relaxed mood as they wore suits and goggles to cover their eyes.
They were also seen standing with other event attendees at the ceremony, which honoured American soldiers who died in Europe during World War II. Also read – Rapper 50 Cent recently said he thinks black men are connecting with former president Donald Trump.
The event – which marks the massive military operation where 156,000 men, 7,000 ships and 10,000 vehicles attacked German forces in Normandy on June 6, 1944 – was also attended by First Lady Jill Biden and President Joe Biden, who met with US veterans of D-Day, according to AP News.
More about D-Day
The ceremony to mark D-Day, where thousands of troops from countries including the United States, France, Britain, and Canada invaded Nazi-occupied north-west Europe in 1944, was also attended by King Charles and Queen Camilla, who visited the Ministry of Defense and Royal British Legion activity at the British Normandy Memorial on the beach at Ver-sur-Mer.
French President Emmanuel Macron awarded France’s highest honour, the Legion of Honor, to eleven American World War II veterans, according to AP News. Meanwhile, during Thursday’s event, Hanks was seen with the former Secretary of State of the United States, John Kerry. Both are photographed smiling.
D-Day has been close to Hanks and Spielberg’s hearts.
In 1998, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg teamed up to make the film Saving Private Ryan, which told the story of the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944.
The director won the Academy Award for Best Director for this Spielberg-directed film.
On the film’s 21st anniversary in 2019, Spielberg told NBC News, “If we’ve done it right — and it’s stood the test of time — it reflects the experience of the kids who were there at 6:30 in the morning. June 6, 1944 “.