A D-day veteran who defended touchdown troops from Nazi fighter planes has obtained greater than 200 playing cards from well-wishers for his one hundredth birthday.
John Dennett, who now lives close to Liverpool, England, was shocked by the haul of 217 playing cards and letters despatched to him from throughout the county to mark his big day.
The widower celebrated with family and friends at a personal social gathering that featured wartime music, meals, and leisure.
“It’s a humorous feeling. It’s solely now that I’ve reached 100 that I notice I’m that previous. I’ll simply need to take it straightforward now,” he joked.
“All I hope is I attain 200!”
John was simply 17 when he signed as much as serve in the beginning of the conflict, towards his mom’s needs. He was an apprentice bricklayer, however after concealing his age, he managed to hitch the Royal Navy in 1941 and went to coach within the US aboard the Queen Elizabeth.
Three years later, on June 6, 1944, he served as an anti-aircraft gunner aboard one of many 7,000 ships that delivered troopers onto the seashores of Normandy, which turned the tide of WWII towards the Nazis.
John additionally took half within the different main allied landings throughout the Second World Struggle, each in North Africa and Italy.
This summer season, he returned to France to mark the eightieth anniversary of D-Day, the place he met the King and paid his respects to the fallen.
“It was distinctive, the journey of a lifetime.
“I additionally met the King and Queen once more; we’re on first title phrases now!
“I loved my time on the market a lot, the reminiscences will stay with me for the remainder of my life. It was very shifting.
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“I needed to say just a few phrases at Bayeux. I mentioned the road that went, ‘On your tomorrow, we gave our at this time’.”
“There was one veteran who was 103 who was performing loads youthful. It actually gave me hope.”
Following the conflict, John based the Ashville Soccer Membership in 1949 to present native youngsters a spot to play. He’s nonetheless its president to at the present time.
And, on its constructing is a big mural that includes a portrait of John along with his chest stuffed with medals (pictured above).
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He mentioned the Membership has helped him get by way of a lot in his life, together with his spouse’s dying in 1994.
Over the past 30 years, since changing into a widower, he’s been a member of the Royal British Legion, embarking on a number of commemorative journeys and promoting purple poppies to learn his fellow veterans.
GIVE THANKS TO A HERO By Sharing John’s Inspiring Life on Social Media…
