- King Charles presents 100th birthday card to D-Day veteran
- D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations planned in UK, France
- Normandy veterans’ numbers dwindle; significant last major commemorations
King Charles personally presented a 100th birthday card to a D-Day veteran.
Jim Miller was granted permission to address the King at Buckingham Palace, where he recounted his experiences during the Normandy landings in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.
Mr. Miller expressed his humility at having reached such a significant number, particularly in light of the individuals who perished on the Normandy beaches decades ago.
King Charles and other royals will participate in commemorations in the United Kingdom and France next week to mark the 80th anniversary of the June 1944 D-Day landings.
The Allied campaign to liberate France and western Europe from Nazi occupation commenced on June 6, 1944, which is commonly referred to as D-Day.
Mr Miller, who is currently residing in South Wales but was born in London, was 20 years old when he arrived at Juno Beach on June 9.
He expressed his pride in the ability to continue to share his recollections with the generations that follow him.
He recounted his personal experience of “such a momentous and harrowing time” to the King as he received his 100th birthday card.
At the age of 18, he failed a hearing exam for the Royal Air Force and subsequently volunteered for the Army.
He was employed as a wireless operator and pilot in armoured vehicles. He traversed the Channel aboard an American vessel during the D-Day landings.
My invitation to Buckingham Palace was a complete surprise and delightful experience. Mr Miller expressed that it was a truly exceptional day and an honour to meet the King and receive my 100th birthday card.
King Charles, Queen Camilla, and Prince William, the Prince of Wales, will participate in a national D-Day commemoration in Portsmouth next week.
This will be King Charles’ first overseas excursion since his cancer diagnosis, in addition to commemorating the 80th anniversary of the largest seaborne invasion in history.
The King, who serves as the patron of the Royal British Legion, will visit Ver-sur-Mer, France, to participate in a commemoration at the British Normandy Memorial.
Prince William will participate in an international ceremony that more than 25 heads of state will witness.
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Normandy will be visited by 23 British veterans who survived D-Day. An additional 21 veterans, including the 100-year-old Mr. Miller, are anticipated to attend an event at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
They are among the diminishing number of Normandy landing veterans who are still surviving.
Normandy events were attended by 255 D-Day veterans five years ago.
In a statement, Philippa Rawlinson of the Royal British Legion stated, “These incredibly moving and poignant commemorations will be our last opportunity to host a significant number of Normandy veterans.”
Historians estimate that approximately 2,500 of the 156,000 Allied troops who landed on the first day of the landings on June 6, 1944, were slain. The landings were a critical turning point in the military campaign to defeat Nazi Germany.
