Omaha Beach, France ? Waves of memories on a beach where the waves themselves once ran red with blood. Tears for the dead. Questions, still unanswered, about how it was that they, the lucky ones, survived.

Sixty years after they stormed Omaha Beach, American veterans of the deadliest D-Day assault returned Thursday to the now peaceful rust-colored sands to remember the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France that changed the world.

Although worn by their years, these old men’s memories of June, 6, 1944, remain sharp. Gathered at a memorial overlooking the beach where Nazi guns spat death, they spoke of loss, sacrifice and pride of their role in liberating Europe from tyranny.

“D-Day changed my life and the memories will live with me forever,” said Ivy Agee, 81, of Gordonsville, Tenn., who fought with B Battery of the 111th Field Artillery.

Normandy, painfully aware that this 60th anniversary may be the last major chance to honor the aging veterans, is turning back the clock, with commemorations, dances, parades and other ceremonies for the troops to whom many here say they owe their freedom.

Recent tensions over Iraq that have dogged relations between the governments of France and the United States are being put aside. Many Normans have hung the Stars and Stripes on their homes. Many came up to the 75 veterans gathered at Omaha — most of whom fought with the 29th Infantry Division — to thank them in person.

“They can’t do enough for us. Oh God, the women come up and kiss me,” said 84-year-old New Yorker Frank Marino.

The landings pierced Adolf Hitler’s western defenses, trapping Nazi Germany between an Allied push from the west and Soviet forces in the east, forcing its surrender 11 months later.

In the 60 years since, Germany has risen from the ashes to become a major European power, a U.S. ally and France’s closest friend. The combatants have had children, grandchildren, careers and lived lives that almost ended young. But the emotions of D-Day still catch in their throats and bring tears to their eyes.

“This week is very special for us, very emotional and very heart-wrenching, as we remember our buddies and friends who fell,” said Norman Grossman, of Boston.

Men of the American assault troops of the 16th Infantry Regiment, injured while storming a coastal area code-named Omaha Beach during the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, wait by the chalk cliffs at Collville-sur-Mer for evacuation to a field hospital for further treatment, in this June 6, 1944, file photo.