Slideshow: Scenes from unveiling of Major Dick Winters statue in Normandy

Today marks the 68th anniversary of the D-Day invasion to liberate France from Nazi occupation. It’s also the day the late Richard Winters began making a name for himself in Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne, when he parachuted into the town of Saint Mere Eglise. His exploits throughout the Second World War would eventually be chronicled by historian Stephen Ambrose in the book Band of Brothers and the HBO mini-series of the same name.

Winters has become so respected, his likeness is featured in a new monument that was dedicated today -- half a world away from his beloved home outside Hershey. The statue honors the leadership of all junior US military officers who stormed the beaches or jumped into France in 1944.

View photos from the unveiling and from around Normandy by clicking below. All photos are by witf's Tim Lambert.