To honour D-Day’s heroes, we must keep our promise to today’s veterans
Keir Starmer at a D-Day national commemoration event in 2024 (Alamy)
4 min read
On the anniversary of D-Day, remembering the sacrifices of the past must go hand in hand with renewing our commitment to those who serve today.
Thirteen years ago, I was standing on a beach in Normandy, with my back to the sea, looking across the broad sands to the low hills and fields that lie near the city of Caen. I was there with my fellow officer cadets from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on a battlefield tour. Even to us at the start of our military careers, we could see just how hard a task it would be to land in the cold, knee-deep water, wade onto the soft sand, and assault up the beach towards the pitiless, ceaseless machine-gun positions of the Germans.
And yet, 82 years ago, on 6 June 1944, that is exactly what more than 156,000 Allied troops did to liberate Western Europe from Nazi occupation.
Many were still in their teens. Yet they faced danger with remarkable courage and, in doing so, helped to secure the freedoms we continue to enjoy today.
Days like today remind us not to take that freedom for granted. It was hard won by a generation who made extraordinary sacrifices, and we owe it to them to remember that.
Every anniversary of D-Day is a moment for remembrance. We remember those who never came home. We honour those who carried the scars of war for the rest of their lives. And we give thanks to a generation whose service changed the course of history forever.
But D-Day also reminds us that remembrance alone is not enough. If we are serious about honouring those who serve, then we must prove it in the way we treat today's armed forces community.
From my own experience, I know that the transition back into civilian life is not always straightforward
As I experienced during my own years of service, I know that military life asks a great deal not just of military personnel, but of the families who stand behind them. I also know that while service brings a sense of belonging and purpose, it also demands sacrifices that can be felt long after a military career is over.
That is why the Armed Forces Covenant matters. It is built on a simple principle: that those who serve, or have served, and their families should face no disadvantage because of their service to our country.
At the general election just under two years ago, Labour promised to strengthen that Covenant and extend it across government. And through the Armed Forces Bill, we are delivering on that promise.
For the first time, the Covenant will apply across central government, devolved governments and local authorities. This matters because the challenges faced by military personnel, veterans and their families do not fit neatly into one department. They can involve housing, healthcare, children's education, employment support and much more.
From my own experience, I know that the transition back into civilian life is not always straightforward, and I, alongside my colleagues, am steadfast in the belief that no veteran who has served our country should be left to navigate those challenges alone.
This change will mean public services are legally required to consider the unique circumstances of the armed forces community.
It will help deliver better support for tens of thousands of serving personnel, veterans and their families across the country, and I am proud to support it.
On D-Day, those who fought trusted that the country they served would prove worthy of their sacrifice. Today, our duty is to honour that trust – not only on anniversaries, but all year round.
So today, we pay tribute to the heroes of the past by renewing our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant and to the armed forces community itself: a promise that your country will never forget the sacrifices you make, and that your service will never be taken for granted.
Louise Sandher-Jones MP is Labour MP for North East Derbyshire and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People
