'We should show them gratitude'
NORMANDY CAMPAIGN veterans receiving the Legion d'honneur medal were a source of inspiration, according to the French ambassador to the UK.
Sylvie Bermann presented France's highest honour to William (Bill) Blair at a ceremony at Government House yesterday.
Jurat Jim Jehan and John Burford had both already been presented with the Legion d'honneur, but were also in attendance.
The three men were among the many thousands of Allied soldiers who landed in Normandy on or after D-Day, 6 June 1944.
Mr Blair, originally from Northern Ireland, was a private in the Parachute Regiment, 12th Battalion 'C' Company, 6th Airborne Division.
He joined the regiment from the Royal Ulster Rifles in 1943.
After completing his parachute training he joined his battalion in Normandy for the start of the 'push' to the River Seine.
Landing at Arromanches by sea in mid-July 1944, Mr Blair fought up to the River Seine and helped to recapture the village of Putot-en-Auge.
By late August he arrived at Pont l'Eveque and together with his battalion succeeded in crossing the river, pushing the German forces back into Holland and the Ardennes.
Mr Blair had his 21st birthday in the trenches in France.
'We should show them gratitude,' said Mrs Bermann.
