Now that it’s no longer the 6th of June, I feel more comfortable saying that I found the massive outpouring of “lest we forget” messages frustrating.

I wholeheartedly support remembering the sacrifices of those who fought on D-Day. But I get frustrated that everyone else is forgotten. People were fighting and dying elsewhere on 6th June 1944, and they deserve to be remembered too.

The men in Italy referred to themselves as the “D-Day dodgers” because all the attention was on Normandy. The 14th Army in Burma had long since called itself “The forgotten army”. SOE had agents in virtually all occupied territories. Sailors of the Royal Navy and merchant navy were risking their lives to ensure convoys carrying food and supplies arrived safely. RAF crews of Bomber Command and Coastal Command were flying regular missions.

In the years before D-Day, many had died in places like Crete, Singapore, North Africa, and Madagascar. Those campaigns, not all of which were successful, made D-Day and the subsequent victory in Europe possible.

When you talk about remembrance, please don’t forget those who fought and died in less famous campaigns.