This Is The Moving Call About A D-Day Veteran That Almost Had Iain Dale In Tears

6 June 2019, 19:36

This caller told Iain Dale a moving tale of his father-in-law, a D-Day veteran who was honoured for his service and what happened when they revisited Normandy.

Bob called in to say he had the "great pleasure and immense honour" of taking his father, who was a D-Day veteran to Normandy on several occasions.

Movingly the caller told LBC that his father-in-law went across to Normandy with his best friend, who was shot and killed on the beach.

"My father-in-law went on to help in the liberation of Cane, and was decorated by the Mayor," Bob said.

One of the things that impressed the LBC listener was "the people of Normandy, who treat our veterans with such reverence and such respect.

"From never being able to to be allowed to pay for a pint in a bar for him, to school children walking past us and putting their hand on their heart and saying thank you.

"Those people are immensely grateful for what our boys did for them," the caller said.

Telling LBC he sat in a bar in Arromanches with his father-in-law one day, Bob told a moving story of how two French people paid the bill, "they'd done so without reference to us, without anything."

Telling Iain Dale how emotional the last two days have been for him, the caller said that he planned to take his children to Normandy to visit the grave of his father-in-law's best friend.

"I think it's something we should do, we should maintain and we have to take into the future."

Describing the 65th anniversary of D--Day as "the most moving thing I have ever done in my life," Bob told a rapt Iain Dale he had arranged for his father-in-law to be in the parade at Arromanches.

"We turned from a quiet side street, led by pipers, drummers and flag bearers, into the main road, down into the carpark in front of the museum in Arromanches to silence.

"Until the last person had turned into that main road when five or six thousand people erupted into applause.

"Just applause."

Bob said he couldn't begin to describe how moving he found it, or how proud he was to be pushing his father-in-law in that parade.

Watch to the whole moving call at the top of the page.