Any D day vets in the family?

[Posh Pete]

Give him a couple of kisses on each cheek and apply.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/d-day-veterans-award-of-the-legion-dhonneur

 

[Noddy]

They waited 70 years before deciding this.

 

[Schtum]

They waited 70 years before deciding this.

Just as the Russians are now awarding the Ushakov Medal to veterans of Icelandic Convoys and it's only two or three years since the UK Government awarded them the Atlantic Star.

 

[LOLGEOFF]

I suppose they had to wait until the number of eligible recipients had dropped to a manageable level.

 

[Posh Pete]

Free travel plus attendant medical care is being offered to D Day vets for visits in 2017. Check out the Royal British Legion website.

 

[DrFarkoff]

This is my old chum Frank He has some great stories but not so much about the nightfighting from the nav seat of a mossie but of not having any turkey for christmas in the mess and having a contact back home apparently you can get quite a few turkeys in the bomb bay

"Routine training flight Sah!"

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/n...st-honour-70-years-on-from-wwii-34143825.html

I have nothing but admiration for those folks My Paternal Grandfather was in the merchant navy and never ever talked about it Except one ship got torpedoed and they rescued a few but most perished due to the cold
One bloke who survived, his hair turned white overnight! There were always nightmares for Granda, I miss him terribly as he taught me a lot of my "engineering" skills

My other grandad served as RAF groundcrew and I think I still have a photo of him beside his spitfire with his crew. He was evacuated at Dunkerque and the only real thing he talked about was his truck with all the tools and spares and bottles of wine he found at a abandoned and blown up chateau where they spent a couple of nights regrouping They drove his truck into the sea to make an extension to the "pier" of vehicles
I saw real pain in his eyes when he told of his mate who was hit just as they were getting into a boat and Grandad had to let him go back into the water as it was a kill shot

Just another life wasted and a family left to suffer at the behest of politicians and Brass!

 

[Jonnybiscuit]

My Dad's a "Dodger" ....... so no medal for him (he'll be 96 this year), or his many mates who "stayed behind" in Italy. His brothers were both on the Russia convoys. Both dead now, so no medals for them either.

 

[Posh Pete]

My Dad's a "Dodger" ....... so no medal for him (he'll be 96 this year), or his many mates who "stayed behind" in Italy. His brothers were both on the Russia convoys. Both dead now, so no medals for them either.

To have been a "D day dodger" is better than a medal IMO. A great song in reply to a foolish politician ...

[video]https://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=O4hny_XRaw4[/video]

 

[Jonnybiscuit]

To have been a "D day dodger" is better than a medal IMO.

Thanks. I quite agree. As he's become old, he re-lives it vividly every day. Sometimes with a smile, but more often followed by silence.