D-Day

This of course isn't taken in Normandy but today is a day when we should all commemorate and remember everyone who took part in the D-Day landings. If it wasn't for the bravery, commitment and dedication of these people, the world would have been a very different place for the generations that followed them - and not a better one.

A couple of years ago, I visited some of the Normandy beacheads, particularly Omaha Beach where the main American force came ashore. Looking at it as it is now, it's difficult to picture what it must have been like 65 years ago. I suppose the nearest you'll get now is the opening half-hour of Saving Private Ryan but having listened to some of the veterans this week describing their experiences, I suspect even Steven Spielberg couldn't fully capture what a bloody slaughterhouse it must have been. Over 5000 US troops died on Omaha in just over 12 hours.

We also visited the American military cemetery at Colleville-su-Mer which was a very moving experience, with row upon row of crisp white crosses.

Tragic as it was for the troops, it's also worth remembering today the thousands of French civilians who also died as a result of or following the invasion, often as a result of Allied action.