The Men Who Wept

Five years ago in 2014 the Normandy Veterans association gathered for the very last time on the beach at Arromanches, it was known on D Day as Gold beach, from there they walked, (those who still could) on to the Bayeux War cemetery where 3935 of their comrades were laid to rest in a Commonwealth cemetery, Most of those brave men won’t be here on this – the 75th anniversary – so this is my tribute to them, My words can never do them the justice that they deserve, but they are offered with gratitude and the utmost sincerity.

The soldiers who cried

They came in their hundreds from far and wide
some helped by young servicemen at their side,
Providing a strong arm for them to lean on
but most held their heads high, marching as one.
A veteran of Sword Beach said ”it brings it back
the chaos the death, the shelling, the flack,
it’s part of your history, here in your brain
tearing you apart, the emotional strain,
of remembering those comrades, those who fell
on these foreign beaches in a living hell.”

Hundreds more veterans sat on Gold Beach
the wrath of the enemy now well out of reach,
As men cast their minds back seventy years
those brave soldiers could not hold back the tears,
Fly pasts, swing music, as the massed pipe bands
played ‘We’ll Meet again’ on the Normandy sands,
For this was the last time they’d gather here
most men in their eighties and ninetieth year,
The Association wasn’t here for praise or thanks
but to lay up their Standards, as age defeats ranks.

They stood with heads high under hot sun
forgetting the sacrifices they had given,
Medals hang heavy on blue-blazered chests
they never once questioned, there were no inquests,
Bayeux, the last French town to be freed
was where her Majesty The Queen, came and tarried,
For this UK veterans of Normandy throng
a D Day anniversary emotional swansong.
The ultimate sacrifice by any nation
should never be forgotten by any generation!

Eric Harvey