They left behind their mothers
Fathers, sisters, brothers
To face the savagery of war
Across the channel on the banks –
Of the Normandy shores
They did not falter though many fell
They hit the beaches, ran into hell
And down the years famous afar
Became the names, Gold, Juno –
Sword, Utah and Omaha
And those that returned having survived
Went on to have successful lives
Raising a family of their own
Never forgetting the one they lost
On the beaches that June morn
They have dealt with their grief
Managed their pain in the belief
That freedoms won would be protected
In memory of those who for all time
Lie in graves line upon line
In a land so far away from their own
Who paid the ultimate sacrifice
To give freedom to humanity