A small number of the last surviving veterans of the D-Day landings have attended the commemorative ceremony held at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer.
Today (6 June) marks the 82nd anniversary of the initial invasion, which laid the foundations for the Allied victory on the Western Front.
This year's commemorative events will be the first since nearly 100 more names were added to the British Normandy Memorial, which lists the soldiers who died in the campaign.
"To a lot of people, they're just names, and they are to us as well," 100-year-old veteran Ken Hay MBE told BFBS Forces News.
"But some of the people, you can see their faces. You've talked to them, served with them – and so they're more than names."
During the commemorations, Ken stood to deliver the remembrance poem before observing a minute's silence.
We will remember them
Nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed on 6 June 1944 to fight Nazi-occupied France.
The Battle of Normandy, which followed the landings, saw 73,000 Allied lives lost with 153,000 men wounded.
Sitting upon the hillside atop Mont Fleury, directly overlooking what was known during the war as Gold Beach, the British Normandy memorial is engraved with the names of servicemen and women from more than 30 countries who served under British command.
"I pray each night for these guys," Ken continued. "But we also have to come back, and say hello, and salute them, and say our prayers with them."
He added: "We're standing with the giants down there."
Earlier this year, 98 more names were etched into the memorial's limestone following research that uncovered the identities of those who fought in the battle.
The Roll of Honour now stands at 22,540.
A Memorial Ambassador, Ken recalled visiting a First World War cemetery as a child.
"They were distant people," he said. "And now we've become part of history ourselves."
Lessons from the past
Among the attendees who paid their respects was Defence Secretary John Healey, who laid a wreath at the foot of the British Normandy Memorial.
Speaking exclusively to BFBS Forces News, Mr Healey pointed to the conflict in Europe and the Middle East as a reminder that the "peace they fought for 82 years ago is under threat now".
"I take as Defence Secretary, a reminder that the alliances that were forged in those D-Day landings [and] in the Normandy campaign, are the alliances that help keep us safe today," he said.
He added that the "spirit" of those partnerships is likened to the spirit of the UK's commitment to Nato, European, and Commonwealth allies as part of its collective security.
"We're stronger when we stay together," he said.
Following in the footsteps
Commemorations to mark the 82nd anniversary started with French schoolchildren walking across Juno Beach to mark H-Hour, the time at which British servicemen were deployed.
Key figures in the success of the landings were also honoured, including Field Marshal Montgomery.
Renowned for his meticulous planning and high troop morale, he turned the tide in North Africa, orchestrated the D-Day landings at Normandy, and led the Allied forces across Northwest Europe.
His grandson, Henry Montgomery, completed a 22km walk along the French coastline and over Sword, Juno and Gold Beaches in honour of the servicemen who landed there more than 80 years ago.
It is the final stage of a 4,000-mile journey, 'In Monty's Footsteps', which began two months ago and is fundraising in support of the British Normandy Memorial's education programme, Operation Remembrance.
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