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00:00fought their way off the beach and into the bitter house-to-house fighting to
00:04take Longue Rue in Sumer. By the end of the first day a quarter of his unit was
00:11dead or wounded. Ken, Stan and Dennis are here today alongside dozens of their
00:21fellow veterans. We are humbled to be with you and for what you did that day
00:28we will always be grateful.
00:48I can guess how they might feel when they hear us applaud their courage.
00:53I'm no hero, they will say. I just did my duty. That humility is so much a part of
01:04why they are truly the best of us. But to call one person a hero does not diminish
01:09the heroism of others. Each of you who contributed that day, sailor, soldier,
01:17aviator, civilian, whether you fought on the beaches or parachuted from the
01:23skies or flew fighters or gliders, whether you were an engineer or a radio
01:29operator or an intelligence officer, your actions freed a continent and built a
01:36better world. You risked everything and we owe you everything. We cannot possibly
01:46hope to repay that debt but we can and we must pledge never to forget. After the
01:55war many of you dedicated your lives to telling the story of what happened here.
01:59You sold poppies and raised millions for charity. You taught generations of young
02:05people about the horrors of war. You lived lives of quiet dignity and
02:10dedication in your homes, workplaces, communities. Yet with each passing year
02:17it falls now to those of us who listened in awe to your stories to pass them on
02:24to our own children and grandchildren. Because only by remembering can we make
02:31certain that the cause you fought for, that so many of your friends and
02:35colleagues died for, that great cause of freedom, peace and democracy will never
02:43be taken for granted. That is why we come here today. That is why we honour our
02:50veterans now and always and that is why I ask those who can to now rise.
03:00And please join me
03:15please join me in giving our heroes the welcome they so deserve.
04:00Thank you.