THEY stormed ashore, navigating their bodies with remarkable precision so as to avoid the rain of bullets in what was the largest seaborne invasion the world has ever witnessed.

Seventy-five years ago today, the D-Day landings - codenamed Overlord - laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front and began the liberation of Nazi-occupied France - and later Europe.

The operation involved hundreds of thousands of Allied troops charging up five beaches in Normandy, France.

South Wales Argus:

(Troops landing)

And later today when standards are lowered and heads sombrely bowed to remember those present during that darkest of hours, let us also reflect on the heroes of Gwent who played their part in the landings to defend the free world from tyranny.

South Wales Argus:

(Fred Lewis)

Fighting his way through unstoppable showers of bullets was Private Fred Lewis.

The Newportonian had originally joined the army in 1940 because he wanted to "keep the tradition alive" in his family.

General Eisenhower, the supreme Allied commander, gave Operation Overlord the go ahead in the early morning hours, after hearing of meteorologists' prediction of a temporary break in the stormy conditions.

Hundreds of thousands of troops were mobilised and made their way up the beaches.

"We scrambled ashore and made defensive positions as best as we could," Mr Lewis previously said.

"Men were shouting and screaming and truing to regroup.

"In all this confusion the Germans were firing.

"It was a hell of [an] explosion and noise.

"A shell came whistling over and exploded and blew me up in the air.

"When I tumbled back to earth I landed on the edge of my entrenching-tool which we all carried as part of our equipment."

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The veteran later awoke in hospital in Basingstoke.

South Wales Argus:

(Ron Draper in uniform)

Life as a steward and storeman on board a minesweeper was a game of roulette.

And any slight distraction could have fatal consequences.

The late Ron Draper, who died in 2017, was a member of a 32-man crew on the BYMS2205 minesweeper, which was tasked with scanning and patrolling the waters for hidden mines.

At his funeral, Terry Jones hailed him as a hero, saying: "What he did in the war was brave and that is why I think of him as a hero.

"Lots of people were killed checking for mines, but luckily Ron was OK."

South Wales Argus:

(Arthur Urch was in the artillery)

Despite many veterans speaking openly of their ordeals, there was an equal number who took many unimaginable horrors to the grave.

Cross Keys native Arthur Urch was one of those.

"He never went into much detail of what happened at D-Day," explained the late veteran's daughter, Avril Gougerty.

"He would talk about lots of other stuff in the war--but not a lot on D-Day.

"I know he was at Normandy and that two landing crafts each side of him were blown up. There was a friend who was also killed. A lot of what happened stayed with him all those years until he died in 2000, aged 81."

South Wales Argus:

(Arthur Urch with a colleague)

Fuelled by a desire to "right the wrongs", Mr Urch signed up to the artillery just before the outbreak of World War Two.

"He was very unhappy at what was going on and wanted to right the wrongs," said his daughter.

"He knew Nazism was wrong.

"The family will always be proud of him."

South Wales Argus:

(Lyn Parry)

And then there is ninety-six-year-old Lyn Parry, who was with other sons from Gwent forming the 156,000-strong Allied force.

The Blaenavon resident, who now lives in the Arthur Jenkins Care Home, joined the 3rd Monmouthshire regiment in 1940, aged 18.

He recently recalled: "It was like hell on earth.

"The fighting and the noise from the artillery from both sides was unbelievable.

"The worst was the air bursts from the German artillery."

He added: "I never want to see that place again."

Of the 156,000 soldiers who landed in France on that fateful day, 83,000 were British or Canadian.

An estimated 4,400 Allied troops died and another 9,000 were wounded or missing; German casualties on the day were estimated to be between 4,000 and 9,000.

The operation resulted in a decisive Allied victory.

As we boldly repeat the stories of veterans, whose resolve ultimately unshackled millions from the grasp of Nazi oppression, we must ensure that their gallantry never fades.

As the late poet John Maxwell Edmonds superbly and famously penned in an epitaph: "When you go home tell them of us and say: 'For your tomorrow, we have gave our today.'"