Show of unity as D-Day sacrifices remembered

LEADERS from more than a dozen countries yesterday put aside disputes over Iraq to thank the Allied forces who fought one of the most decisive military battles ever in the D-Day invasion that broke Nazi Germany's grip on Europe.

French President Jacques Chirac welcomed President Bush at the American cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, where 9,387 fallen US fighters are buried.

The ceremony at Omaha Beach, the bloodiest fight of all five landing zones, started with a 21-gun salute directed by one of the veterans of the Normandy fighting.