Remembered as one of the defining battles of World War 2, veterans and those connected to soldiers who took part in the operation, are hoping that their stories will still be remembered for years to come.
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00:00To honour the soldiers who fought on D-Day, Royal British Legion Industries in Aylesford
00:07invited veterans and the public to witness the lighting of a beacon within its Garden
00:12of Honour.
00:14Veteran Pete Gower had the honour of lighting said beacon, and the anniversary was powerful
00:20as it gave him the opportunity to remember his father.
00:23I'm very, very, very honoured, very honoured. They could have picked anybody really, but
00:29I am honoured that they picked me. They gave us our freedom, so we should remember them
00:34all the year round. Just remember those guys that gave their lives for us.
00:40The event has also given veterans the chance to open up about difficult experiences they've
00:46had during conflicts.
00:48I've wrote two poems for today. One's called On This Day, which I've drawn from my own
00:54experience of being inside combat and what it must have been like, or what it must have
00:58felt like for the soldiers that landed on the beaches during D-Day. And the other one's
01:04In Silent Thought. It's through the eyes of a veteran that keeps their private thoughts
01:09private and it goes into some way of explaining the sights and visions that a soldier suffers
01:19when they think about things in silence.
01:23The younger generation at the ceremony also have a desire to keep the memory of our servicemen
01:28alive.
01:29I think it's very important that we're here today, particularly because it's probably
01:33going to be the last big one that is organised. So for us to be here at the Royal British
01:42Legion today to play at this event and support it musically is a real privilege and a real
01:48pleasure and we're absolutely delighted to be part of it.
01:52I don't think sometimes most young people of today sometimes realise the significance
01:58of what happened on the 6th June 1944 and it's very, very important that people do understand
02:05how important that invasion was in liberating France and the rest of the country.
02:14Now as you can see behind me, the beacon is burning brightly here in the Royal British
02:19Legion's Garden of Honour, a powerful reminder of the battles our veterans fought for our
02:25freedoms and the sacrifices they've had to make. It's been an incredible honour to listen
02:31to their stories which are still remembered 80 years on and hopefully will be forever
02:37more.
02:39Henry Luck for KMTV in Aylesford.