John Kerry adds personal touch to D-Day commemorations in France
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry paid a visit to his family’s ancestral estate in a small French seaside town on Saturday, a day after international ceremonies marked the 1944 liberation in Normandy.
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"It's great to be here and to celebrate the eternal bonds between the United States and France," said Kerry, speaking in French.
Kerry travelled to Saint Briac in the neighbouring province of Brittany to visit the property long-owned by his Paris-born mother’s family.
Kerry paid tribute to three US soldiers who died on June 15, 1944 alongside first cousin and former Green Party candidate for the French presidency Brice Lalonde.
Former GI Tony Vaccaro, whose famous photo of an American soldier kissing a French girl became an iconic image of the end of the war, also accompanied the Secretary of State.
Scores of American tourists and local residents took part in the 70th anniversary.
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