DIGNITARIES, MILITARY PERSONNEL and former soldiers turned out yesterday for the annual wreath-laying ceremony and band concert at the Military Cemetery at Gravesend, St Michael.
The highlight of the ceremony was the handing over of a bugle which was donated by the Liason Office of the United States Embassy to the Military Cemetery Association.
In his welcoming address, Garrison Secretary Winfield Boyce indicated that the date of yesterday’s ceremony was a special day in World War II, coinciding with the 66th anniversary of D-Day.
Boyce said that on June 6, 1944, allied forces under the command of General Dwight Eisenhower stormed the shores of Normandy, France, initiating the liberation of France from Germany. The invasion, he said, was called Operation Overlord and involved five separate landings by the American, British and Canadian troops.
“Those of us who were not around at that time may not understand the conditions under which men and women, through tears, sweat and blood, fought; but let us understand and be assured that they did so to preserve our civilisation and give hope to all humanity,” he said. The event paid special tribute to fallen soldiers. (AH)
