D-Day heroes remain determined, resilient and dutiful - the very best of us

D-Day heroes remain determined, resilient and dutiful - the very best of usOPINION - LORD ASHCROFT: D-Day veterans returning to Normandy to pay their respects to fallen comrades display the same qualities they did 82 years ago Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments By Lord Ashcroft 07:00, Fri, Jun 5, 2026 Lord Ashcroft's hero father Eric saw action on D-Day on June 6, 1944 (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)Their numbers are shrinking but the poignancy of their annual visit is increasing. They are the D-Day survivors, every one of them a hero, who still travel to Normandy to commemorate the famous June 6 1944 landings. Almost every surviving D-Day veteran is now more than 100 years old, yet some still insist on travelling across the English Channel to pay their respects to fallen comrades. I salute their determination, resilience and their sense of duty, qualities which are as evident today as they were fully 82 years ago. window.scriptsToLoad.push({url:'https://live.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?s=118222&vp_content=plembed3a6btjknzwqh&cbuster=%%CACHEBUSTER%%&playerApiId=v118222',triggeredBy:'tcfLoaded',delay:1500,containerId:'ovp-primis',title:"Primis player",beforeLoad:()=>{window.top.addEventListener('primisPlayerInit',e=>{try{if(e.detail&&e.detail.playerApiId==="v118222"){if(window.document.getElementsByClassName('jwplayer')[0]){e.detail.float('disable')}}}catch(e){}})},}) For some of those travelling to France, this will be a “first” – the first time since a victorious campaign last year by the Daily Express to get the Government to pay the veterans’ expenses, including bed and board, to enable them to travel to France on D-Day. In early June 1944, as part of “Operation Neptune” – within the wider context of “Operation Overlord” – around 155,000 men came across the Channel to land on five beach areas, each given a codename. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Get th...