Sixty years ago today, the largest war fleet in history sped across the surly English Channel and landed on the heavily fortified beaches of Normandy to begin an invasion that would defeat Nazi Germany a year later.

In a mission of incredible bravery and daring, 155,000 Allied troops landed in 2,727 transport vessels. More than 3,000 Americans died June 6, 1944 - D-Day - and another 6,000 in the days that immediately followed. But the huge gamble by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Allied commander, paid off.

It could easily have failed. The invasion depended on perfect timing and optimal conditions. The technology used to land and stave off German countermeasures was largely untested.

The history of D-Day is pocked with what-ifs. Had German commanders had the authority to counterattack 12 hours earlier, historians point out, the invasion would have failed. Had German rockets been aimed at the beaches instead of at London, the Nazis would have prevailed. Today the French might be speaking German. Perhaps. Perhaps Russian. Who knows?

We know this: The bold and bloody advance by the Allies, chiefly U.S. forces, preserved freedom on the continent of Europe - freedom that flourishes today. That point was made by Jean-David Levitte, French ambassador to the United States, on a recent visit to the Enquirer.

In elaborate ceremonies today in Normandy, led by President Bush and French President Jacques Chirac, the French will pay tribute to surviving American veterans of D-Day. "This is simply to say thank you. You saved us twice in the last century. We will never forget," Levitte said. "As free people, we express our views. Sometimes we dis-

agree, but that doesn't mean a strong alliance is in danger."

Today's tribute to that crucial pivot-point of history offers a precious chance for the United States and France to reaffirm those bonds, shaken by Iraq.

But more important, it is a way to send a strong message to that fast-disappearing generation of American heroes that the late columnist Joan Beck called "Generation V" - for Victory, of course - a generation that sacrificed 405,399 lives in World War II: We, too, will never forget their heroism and sacrifice.