Gallery: Historical images of D-Day invasion

American reinforcements, arrive on the beaches of Normandy from a Coast Guard landing barge into the surf on the French coast on June 23, 1944 during World War II. They will reinforce fighting units that secured the Norman beachhead and spread north toward Cherbourg. (AP Photo/U.S. COAST GUARD)

Prince Bernard of the Netherlands taking the salute, during his visit to the Normandy front in France, on August 24, 1944. (AP Photo)

Scene as landing ships and craft of the great armada reached the beaches of Normandy. Minesweeper and other small craft making for the beaches, on July 21, 1944. (AP Photo)

U.S. soldiers are seen in the church of the small Normandy town of St. George D'Elle, July 15, 1944, after they captured the site from German troops, who used the church's steeple strategically as sniper position. (AP Photo)

WORLD WAR II WWII EUROPEAN THEATER ALLIED FORCES TROOPS AMERICAN U.S. MEDICS CARRYING SOLDIER FIRST AID STATION MEDICAL ATTENTION WOUNDED INJURED INJURIES CASUALTIES CASUALTY LYING ON STRETCHER NORMANDIE LANDINGS NORMANDY INVASION BEACHHEAD

U.S. soldiers ride through the surf at a Normandy beachhead enroute to the inland battlefields, during the Allied invasion of France, June 21, 1944. (AP Photo)

A U.S. medical detachment leaves its position on a hill overlooking the beach to follow advancing troops, during the Allied invasion of the Normandy, France, on June 20, 1944. (AP Photo/Irvin Bede)

U.S. soldiers are seen as they take cover in a roadside ditch in the small Normandy town of St. Sauveur Le Vicomte, near Cherbourg, on June 19, 1944. (AP Photo)

Allied forces camp out in fox holes, caves and tents on this hillside overlooking the beach at Normandy, France, during the D-Day invasion in World War II. (AP Photo/Bede Irvin)

Some cheerful, some grimly serious, these soldiers of the Royal Canadian Navy aboard an LCI transport are seen just minutes before they arrive on the northern coast of France to join other Allied forces in the Normandy invasion, June 19, 1944.

American troops pack a landing craft underway to a beachhead at the northern coast of France, during the Allied invasion of Normandy, June 19, 1944. (AP Photo)

Allied materials of war, including amphibious "ducks" and other armored vehicles, fills an invasion beach on the Normandy coast of France, protected by barrage balloons during World War II. The balloons also hover over ships anchored off shore waiting their turn to unload the reenforcement supplies on June 18, 1944. (AP Photo)

Pfc. Sal Siracusa, right, of New Haven, Conn., includes his trumpet in his equipment as he embarks with American reinforcement troops from an English port, during the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, on June 15, 1944. His comrade on the left is unidentified. (AP Photo)

Pfc. Jerry Casillo, of Buffalo, N.Y., cleans his rifle during a rare moment of rest while his fellow soldiers catch some sleep, on a beachhead at Normandy, France, during the Allied invasion, on June 15, 1944. His comrade on the right is Pfc. Rohde of Elmira, New York. (AP Photo)

Here is a cross section of the massive glider operations during the Normandy invasion, at an objective of the U.S. 9th Air Force, June 14, 1944. Gliders and tow planes are circling and many gliders have landed in fields at left and in middle distance. Note smashed glider at lower right. (AP Photo)

After disembarking from their landing craft, Canadian troops march along the sandy beach to join other Allied forces during the invasion of the Normandy, France, June 14, 1944. (AP Photo)

A platoon of black American soldiers surround a farm house in an unknown French town, searching for a German sniper who had been holding up the advance of the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, June 14, 1944. (AP Photo)

Two survivors of a small vessel which went down after colliding with a German mine, are brought aboard a U.S. Coast Guard landing craft, during Allied landing operations at Normandy, France, June 13, 1944. As the one at right already grasps the line to be pulled in, the other one waits while keeping afloat with a piece of wood. (AP Photo)

With barrage balloons against enemy aircraft flying overhead, a long line of LCts is crossing the English Channel, bringing men and material to the beachheads in France, during the Allied invasion of the Normandy, June 13, 1944. (AP Photo/Irvin Bede)

After disembarking from their landing craft, reinforcement troops of American military police walk along a beachhead road, during the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, on June 13, 1944. (AP Photo/Jack Rice)

Coming ashore from their landing craft, these American soldiers take a short rest in the protection of a chalk cliff before they enter the battle on the advance toward inland, during the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, June 12, 1944. (AP Photo)

A long line of American infantrymen advance to the front toward inland, keeping within a tapemarked white line cleared of enemy mines, during the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, June 12, 1944. A barrage balloon against low-flying Naxi German aircraft flies overhead. (AP Photo)

Many smiling, some stern, these American infantrymen ride aboard a U.S. Navy LCI, underway to their rendezvous with other Allied invasion forces on the Normandy coast of France, June 12, 1944. (AP Photo)

Under heavy bombardment by German 88mm guns, American soldiers flatten themselves on the sand as they move up the shore, during Allied landing operations in Normandy, France, June 12, 1944. (AP Photo)

In the shadow of the U.S. cruiser Augusta, small landing craft head for the shore of Normandy, France, during Allied landing operations, June 12, 1944. (AP Photo)

A wounded American paratrooper, with his right arm in a sling, keeps a tight hold on his carton of cigarettes as he is helped up the ramp of an LCVP waiting to take him to a hospital ship off the invasion beachhead, during Allied landing operations at Normandy, France, June 12, 1944. (AP Photo)

An endless line of fresh supplies, coming from the invasion fleet seen in the background, reaches the Allied troops at the Normandy coast of France as they move from the beaches toward inland areas battling German forces, during Allied landing operations, June 12, 1944. (AP Photo)

A French girl places flowers over the freshly-dug grave of an American Airborne trooper as a token of appreciation of arrival of Allied liberators on the northern coast of France, June 12, 1944. The trooper was killed when his glider landed in the Normandy area of France in World War II. (AP Photo/Peter J. Carroll)

Low tide on the Normandy beach of France on June 12, 1944 reveals a long stretch of skeleton-like obstructions erected by the Germans in a vain attempt to prevent Allied landings during World War II. These structures are veiled by water at high tide and provide a menace to landing craft. (AP Photo)

U.S. troops and equipment are on the move inland from an established beachhead at Omaha Beach in the Normandy region of France, June 10, 1944. (AP Photo/Jack rice)

American infantrymen follow in the tracks of tanks as they march along the beach, during Allied Normandy landing operations in France, June 9, 1944. (AP Photo/Peter Carroll)

American Red Cross medics tend to a wounded soldier lying on the beach, during Allied Normandy landing operations in France, on June 9, 1944. (AP Photo/Peter Carroll)

American troops follow in the tracks of tanks as they march along the beach, during Allied Normandy landing operations in France, on June 9, 1944. (AP Photo/Peter Carroll)

Under heavy German machine gun fire, American infantrymen wade ashore off the ramp of a Coast Guard landing craft on June 8, 1944, during the invasion of the French coast of Normandy in World War II. (AP Photo)

British troops, trucks, and ambulances stand on deck in readiness landing as the transport ship nears the coast of France, during the Allied invasion of the Normandy, on June 8, 1944. (AP Photo)

One of the invasion beaches at Normandy, as troops and supplies were pouring in and the first prisoners were waiting to be brought to Britain. German prisoners, mostly conscripted Poles and Ukrainians, wait passage to England in a landing craft tank, at Normandy, France, on June 7, 1944. (AP Photo)

Commandos of the British Army rest on the beach after D-Day at Normandy, France, on June 7, 1944. (AP Photo)

After landing at the shore, these British troops wait for the signal to move forward, during the initial Allied landing operations in Normandy, France, June 6, 1944. (AP Photo)

As the Allied invasion of the Normandy gets underway, American troops are shown as they embark in landing crafts at a British port, on June 6, 1944. (AP Photo/Peter Carroll)

Men and supplies are being ferried out to landing crafts enroute for the initial Allied invasion of the Normandy, June 6, 1944. (AP Photo/Peter Carroll)

WORLD WAR II WWII EUROPEAN THEATER D-DAY ALLIED FORCES U.S. TROOPS AMERICAN SOLDIERS CROUCHING DUCKING BEHIND BULWARK BARGE LANDING CRAFT NORMANDIE LANDINGS NORMANDY INVASION SEABORNE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT LANDING OPERATION OVERLORD D-DAY

Under the cover of naval shell fire, American infantrymen wade ashore from their landing craft during the initial Normandy landing operations in France, June 6, 1944. (AP Photo/Peter Carroll)

Men and assault vehicles storm the beach as Allied landing craft reach their destination during the initial Normandy landing operations in France, on June 6, 1944. (AP Photo)

Men and assault vehicles storm the Normandy Beach of France, as allied landing craft arrive at their destination on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Note men coming ashore in surf and vehicles starting inland. (AP Photo)

A U.S. Coast Guard LCI, heavily listing to port, moves alongside a transport ship to evacuate her troops, during the initial Normandy landing operations in France, on June 6, 1944. Moments later the craft will capsize and sink. Note that helmeted infantrymen, with full packs, are all standing to starboard side of the ship. (AP Photo)

Members of an American landing unit help their exhausted comrades ashore during the Normandy invasion, June 6, 1944. The men reached the zone code-named Utah Beach, near Sainte Mere Eglise, on a life raft after their landing craft was hit and sunk by German coastal defenses. (AP Photo)

WORLD WAR II WWII EUROPEAN THEATER ALLIED FORCES NORMANDIE LANDINGS NORMANDY INVASION D-DAY SEABORNE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT LANDING OPERATION OVERLORD LANDING CRAFT MILITARY VEHICLES OFFLOADING U.S. TROOPS SOLDIERS SECURING AREA ESTABLISHING BEACHHEAD BEACH SAND SITTING IN HOLES D-DAY

Carrying full equipment, American assault troops move onto a beachhead code-named Omaha Beach, on the northern coast of France on June 6, 1944, during the Allied invasion of the Normandy coast. (AP Photo)

Members of a British special service commando are having their kits checked before leaving for the Allied landing operations of the Normandy coast in France, on June 6, 1944. (AP Photo)

British reinforcement troops from the Royal Pioneers Corps and Royal Engineers embark LCI at an English port, underway to join the Allied invasion in Normandy, France, in June 1944. (AP Photo)

With his hair matted, and a weary but determined look in his face, this American soldier has his hand bandaged by a fellow medical officer, after he was wounded in battle in the early days of the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, in June 1944. (AP Photo)

This World War II photo shows British glider troops debarking their glider after they landed in Normandy in June 1944. (AP Photo)

U.S. reinforcements wade through the surf from a landing craft in the days following D-Day and the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France at Normandy in June 1944 during World War II. (AP Photo/Bert Brandt)

U.S. Army medical personnel administer a plasma transfusion to a wounded comrade, who survived when his landing craft went down off the coast of Normandy, France, in the early days of the Allied landing operations in June 1944. (AP Photo)

This is the scene along a section of Omaha Beach in June 1944, during Operation Overlord, the code name for the Allied invasion at the Normandy coast in France during World War II. Landing crafts put troops and supply on shore at Omaha, one of five landing beaches. Seen in the background is part of the large fleet that brought the Allied troops across the English Channel. Barrage balloons are flying in the air, designed to entangle low-flying enemy aircraft in their cables. (AP Photo)

American assault forces hurdle over the side of a Coast Guard LCI into a landing barge, which will bring them into the fight to liberate France, during the Allied invasion of the Normandy, in June 1944. (AP Photo)

American soldiers lie on stretchers and sit propped against a sea wall awaiting transportation back to England for treatment after being wounded in the Normandy invasion, northern France, June 1944 during World War II. (AP Photo/Peter J. Carroll)

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, second from left, visits the Allied beachhead of Normandy, France, June 1944 during World War II. Standing with Churchill at Gen. Montgomery's headquarters are, from left, British Field Marshal Alan Brooke; British Gen. Bernard L. Montgomery, and Gen. Jan Smuts, prime minister of the Union of South Africa. (AP Photo)

U.S. Navy men take apart a German "Beetle", a miniature tank loaded with explosives, during the Allied Normandy landings in France, in June 1944. (AP Photo)

With the combined efforts of U.S. Navy construction battalions and U.S. Army engineers, beachhead roadways fast become realities, providing a steady stream of supplies from LSTs to the fighting troops at the front, during the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, in June 1944. (AP Photo)

German prisoners of war, captured during the Allied Normandy invasion, are marched to the ships that bring them into captivity in England, in June 1944, at Bernieres-sur-mer, France. (AP Photo)

British and Canadian troops are seen as they seek cover behind a sand dune, southwest from Caen, during the Allied invasion of the Normandy in June 1944. (AP Photo)

A tribute to an unknown American soldier, who lost his life fighting in the landing operations of the Allied Forces, marks the sand of Normandy's shore, in June 1944. (AP Photo)

U.S. reinforcements wade through the surf as they land at Normandy in the days following the Allies' June 1944, D-Day invasion of occupied France. (AP Photo)

U.S. reinforcements wade through the surf as they land at Normandy in the days following the Allies' June 1944, D-Day invasion of occupied France. (AP Photo/Peter Carroll)

U.S. infantrymen wade through the surf as they land at Normandy in the days following the Allies' June 1944, D-Day invasion of occupied France. An allied ship loaded with supplies and reinforcements waits on the horizon. (AP Photo/Bert Brandt)

Two American soldiers rest against a chalk cliff on the beach of the Normandy coast of France after landing in June,1944. Man at right is wrapped in blanket and soldier at left stretches out beside an inflatable belt he apparently wore while making his way ashore. (AP Photo)

In this photo provided by the Office of War Information, U.S. landing craft are beached on a Normandy shore to unload troops and supplies to back up Allied advance against the Nazis in France in 1944. (AP Photo/OWI/Richard Boyer)

While under attack of heavy machine gun fire from the German coastal defense forces, these American soldiers wade ashore off the ramp of a U.S. Coast Guard landing craft, June 6, 1944, during the Allied landing operations at the Normandy. (AP Photo)