Like Kevin McGrath's, my father was a "D-Day Dodger", but there were two uncles I never knew because they died during the invasion, one in Normandy and the other at Arnhem.

The Normandy landings were the usual wartime combination of courage and cock-up, but succeeded because of the former and despite the latter.

As far as the cinematic recollections of D-Day and the following campaign are concerned, "Saving Private Ryan" and "Band of Brothers" continued the US media's tradition of minimising the contribution of other Allies (not only the British, but also the Canadians, French, etc.) which can still be descried in Iraq today.

Reality was and is different - I have never heard any serviceman of any Allied country who was actually there indulge in such a belittling of the relative contributions, and all the broadcasts of recent days reinforced this.

Britain could not have invaded Europe alone in 1944, we needed you then as never before or since.

So, indeed, thanks, Yanks!

Alan