A tradition lasting almost 20 years where World War II veterans remember those who fell on the Normandy beaches has been given a special touch.
Veterans of the 1944 D-Day Landings from South Holland were presented with medals and diplomas awarded by the Utah Museum in Normandy for keeping alive the memories of US soldiers who fought alongside them in the war.
The group make an annual pilgrimage to beaches in Normandy, France, named after the US states of Omaha and Utah, to commemorate US soldiers who died to free Western Europe from Nazi occupation.
A presentation event was held at the Anglia Motel, Fleet, and owner Harold Payne said: “The diplomas are from the Utah Museum in Normandy where our boys remember those who fell on D Day.
“On D-Day, some of the boys went from the beaches of Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to join the Americans in fighting the German army.
“Every year, our veterans go back to Normandy and lay a wreath and the diplomas are the Americans’ way of saying thank you.”
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