D-Day 80th anniversary: Veterans' memories shared at ceremony

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00Sadly George could not travel to be in France today. He landed on Sword Beach

00:07age 17. I would have loved to have been with you all but unfortunately I'm not

00:15as sprightly as I was then. For my battalion in the Royal Ulster Rifles we

00:24lost most of our men on the 9th of June. 26 of my comrades fell. The people I

00:35fought with were just ordinary people but when they were needed they never

00:41faltered. I still remember the jokes we shared. I am absolutely honoured they're

00:51being remembered today. John Westlake a leading air craftsman in the RAF

01:01during the Normandy campaign shared these words. I ask you to speak on my

01:08behalf to remember all those good men who feared that no one would ever know

01:15their stories. We lost so many brave men. The turnover of pilots was high. I have

01:25never forgotten the ones who did not survive. We went through it all together.

01:32Such nice lads. I only wish I knew what happened to them. I want them to know

01:42that they will never be forgotten.

01:48Just two weeks before D-Day Peter Seaborn turned 17 years old. He was an

01:55able seaman serving in the Royal Navy. He remembers. I was aboard my destroyer

02:03escorting American troops to the beaches. The sight before my eyes has never left

02:09me. Rockets, shelling, bombing, enemy fire. We later lost HMS Bodicea. A ship

02:20escorting a Merchant Navy convoy across the Channel. The convoy just behind mine.

02:28170 men perished and 12 survived. Even though I have never been able to return

02:37I am grateful that my words can travel to you today and say a final thank you

02:44in my stead.

02:49Arthur O'Byrne landed on Gold Beach and is with us here this morning. I am

02:55honoured to stand by the names of the friends he lost. He told me, not many

03:02people can say they survived a sniper shooting them through the chest but

03:07thanks to my good friend Walther Gummerson, Gummy, as he was known to us, I

03:12can. He drove me to a field hospital saving my life. The next day my unit was

03:22ambushed, shredded and every man was killed. I never saw Gummy again. That day

03:30I lost 27 comrades.

03:38It is all because of Gummy's quick thinking, his desire to help

03:46those around him, that I can stand before you today. I wish I could tell him I have

03:55never taken his sacrifice for granted and will always remember him and our

04:03friends. So Gummy, thank you my old friend.

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