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Dedication of veterans honoured 


Part of a series of commemorative events to mark the 72nd anniversary of the DDay landings in Normandy included attendance by a Portsmouth civic delegation at the French national memorial service at Port-en-Bessin, or Gold beach as it was know for Operation Overlord.


Early in the morning on June 6, 1944, about 156,000 Allied soldiers stormed the beaches along the coast of Normandy, France. 
Although choppy seas and heavy German resistance prevented them from fully meeting their objectives that day, they were able to gain a crucial foothold in mainland Europe.
Cllr Stephen Morgan said: 
“It is difficult to imagine and understand what my grandfather – aged just 17 years at the time – and the allied troops must have been feeling when they arrived here to start the liberation of mainland Europe. 
It has been an honour to talk with veterans over the last few days and meet those involved in the operation. We must do everything we can to ensure their stories live on. They ensured a Europe which is in peace because of what Britain and its allies did to bring that peace”.