Rishi Sunak told D-Day veterans “we owe you everything” as he addressed the audience at the UK’s commemoration event in Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of the landings.
The prime minister said veterans had “taught generations of young people about the horrors of war”.
“Yet with each passing year, it falls now to those of us who listened in awe to your stories to pass them on to our own children and grandchildren,” Mr Sunak added.
“Only by remembering can we make certain that the cause you fought for, that so many of your friends and colleagues died for, that great cause of freedom, peace and democracy, will never be taken for granted.”