D-Day remembrance ceremonies on Saturday were different from last year's, when many tens of thousands went to the northern French beaches of Normandy to commemorate the Allied landings which led to the liberation of Europe from Nazi control.

On June 6 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified coastline to fight against Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy. These same beaches were eerily quiet on Saturday. 

As a result of coronavirus measures, many ceremonies, including those commemorating D-Day, have been cancelled in the region, with the exception of very small gatherings. 

At daybreak, one veteran Charles Shay, stood alone on the very beach where he fought 76 years ago in one of the most intense and renowned battles in military history. 

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower famously said of the operation, which he called a crusade, "We will accept nothing less than full victory." 

D-Day turned the tide of World War II. 

On that day more than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft were involved in the D-Day invasion. By day's end, the Allies had gained a foot-hold in Continental Europe. At least 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed and wounded. 

"I am very sad now," said Shay, who was a 19-year-old U.S. Army medic at the time he landed on Omaha Beach, a landing area in Normandy that is now dotted with the remains of German bunkers. 

"Because of the virus, nobody can be here. I would like to see more of us here," he told the Associated Press.

"This year, I am one of the very few that is probably here," he also said, adding that a large majority of other U.S. veterans could not fly in because of the pandemic. 

The mayor of Saint-Laurent-Sur-Mer, Philippe Laillier, staged a small remembrance around the Omaha Beach monument, despite the current restrictions that have prevented normal ceremonies with larger gatherings of people going ahead.

"It's a June 6 unlike any other," said Laillier. 

"But still we had to do something. We had to mark it." 

At daybreak, the Omaha Beach theme from Saving Private Ryan could be heard playing out loud across the dunes and waves. There were a few dozen locals and visitors gathered on the beach that had dressed up in vintage clothing. 

This was a stark contrast to the international crowds that normally pay their respects at the site. 

One local who paid his respects, Ivan Thierry, is a 62-year-old local fisherman. He catches sea bass around the wrecks that rest on the seabeds in the area. Thierry was holding an American flag in tribute before dawn even broke in the skies. 

"There is not nobody here. 

"Even if we are only a dozen, we are here to commemorate," he said.