FILE - In this Aug. 10, 1944 file photo, thousands of U.S. 3rd Division troops wait to board Landing Ships Tanks on an unidentified beach in Italy in preparation for Operation Dragoon. First intended to coincide with the landings in Normandy, the operation was delayed due to lack of resources. Carried out by French and American troop, it started on August 15, 1944. For Allied troops in western Europe, D-Day was just the beginning of a long and bloody push toward victory over the Nazis. Ten weeks after commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France is paying tribute this week to Allied troops involved in another major, but often overlooked, military operation: landings on the Mediterranean coast. (AP Photo, File)