An emotional Ellie Costello has recalled a poignant conversation she had with a D-Day veteran.
The GB News star stressed to viewers how important it is to hear their testimonies while they are still with us.
She spoke from Normandy on the 80th anniversary of the landings as ceremonies take place to remember those who served on a day that proved fateful for thousands.
“It reflects just how much time we have left with these veterans, the answer is, not very much”, she said.
Ellie Costello heaped praise on D-Day veterans
PA / GB NEWS
“The Royal British Legion acknowledged yesterday that this is the last major event where these veterans will be present.
“It is so important that we hear those testimonies and first hand accounts. I am so struck by how humble these men are.
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D-Day veterans are celebrating 80 years since the historic operationsPA
Ellie Costello said it's important to hear the first hand accounts of veterans while they are still with us
GB NEWS
“I called them heroes yesterday and they said, ‘we’re not heroes, it’s the men in the ground who are’.”
Royal Family members and world leaders gathered with veterans in the northern French region to mark the occasion on Thursday.
A military piper begun commemorations by playing a lament at sea at the exact moment of the beach invasion in 1944.
Major Trevor Macey-Lillie continuously played Highland Laddie as he came ashore at Gold Beach in Arromanches, paying tribute to fallen comrades and veterans who led the biggest seaborne invasion in military history.
It also remembers a lone piper who played in the D-day Normandy landings 80 years ago and was never shot at.
Veterans were presented with white roses by schoolchildren at the event.
At the same time, an RAF band performed a marching display while Dakota military transport aircraft flew overhead.
The British Normandy Memorial, in Ver-sur-Mer, opened in 2021 to pay tribute to 22,442 service personnel under British command who died on D-Day and during the Battle of Normandy in the summer of 1944.
The major anniversary event today is the first of its kind held at the memorial and will see Charles and Camilla officially open the Winston Churchill Centre for Education and Learning Centre.
Thursday’s commemorations follow an emotional ceremony in Portsmouth on Wednesday where the King appeared to wipe away a tear during an event where he paid tribute to the “courage, resilience and solidarity” of veterans.