Leaving the landing craft ashore, he described having to wade in and avoid metal obstacles which made the beach approach “rough in places”.
“There’s a brave few boys lost their lives there,” he said.
Later in the war, the veteran said he remembered coming under attack from members of the Hitler Youth in Germany.
“I remember going through this wee village and we were headed up and there was heavy fire coming from a corner shot, you know, and I had a bazooka,” he said.
“That’s for taking out tanks, knocking down buildings, and I couldn’t get close enough to make it effective, so I called up for tank support.
“Three kids, they were doing all the trouble, two wee girls and a wee lad. They couldn’t have been anymore than about 13, 14.
“They belonged to an organisation which I found out later was the Hitler Youth group, but that didn’t make it any easier for me.
“It was the only time I cried. You’d no choice.”
