OBVERSE

On the night of June 5-6, 1944, during Operation Tonga, units of the 6th Airborne Division were the first of the Normandy landings to engage in combat. They were dropped by gliders and parachuted behind Sword Beach to secure the eastern flank of the Allied landing zone. Their objectives included capturing Pegasus Bridge and the bridge over the Orne River, as well as destroying the Merville battery. All objectives were achieved. Operation Tonga continued with the parachuting of other division units to hold the sector and face German counter-offensives.

REVERSE

⁣⁢The reverse of this coin highlights all the allied countries having officially participated in the Normandy landings surrounding the face value and the
RF mention. Clockwise: Free France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Australia, United States, Norway, United Kingdom, Czechoslovakia, Canada, Belgium. The stars under the flags are also a tribute to the “Path of Freedom”, kilometer markers marking the route followed by the 3rd American Army for the liberation of France to Luxembourg.⁤⁣