A letter to the Editor...

The text of a letter that the President of Project 65, General Sir Robert Pascoe, KCB, MBE, has sent to the Editors of all national newspapers...

Sir,

There has been criticism of the Government over recent days for not assisting D-Day veterans wishing to return to France this June.

No Government ever provides enough money for these things, not even enough to look after our wounded as well as we would wish and yesterday’s U-turn by the MOD over help for the Normandy veterans has come about only as a result of increasing pressure led by the Normandy Veterans Association through the media, perhaps helped by reports that President Obama would be present in France this year.

‘MOD money’ however is still ‘Government money’ and this comes from only one source; us, the taxpayers, and who among us likes to pay more tax?

None of us likes paying too much for anything. With obvious exaggeration we say that something expensive ‘costs us an arm and a leg’, but who amongst us would really give an arm and a leg for anything? Who would volunteer to do so?

Yet many of our young soldiers are doing just that. They are giving an arm and a leg, literally, in the service of their country in Afghanistan, and in recent years some did so in Iraq as well.

Our soldiers, and our sailors and airmen too, have been doing this forever. We still have many veterans of World War II as well as those wounded in later campaigns from Korea to Kosovo. While the death tolls of today’s campaigns are repeated endlessly by the media, no-one tells us about those who struggle on with physical or mental problems for the rest of their life.

Luckily in Britain today, we have many people raising money to support our wounded and needy veterans. The Trustees of Project 65, marking the 65th anniversary of ‘The Longest Day’, have already raised £150,000 towards their target of £500,000. Surviving D-Day Veterans are now in their 90s or late 80s and many need continuing help which is provided by a variety of specialist charities.

Project 65 will be passing on this sum to six of them: the Royal British Legion, Army Benevolent Fund, RAF Benevolent Fund, St Dunstan's, British Limbless Ex-Servicmen's Association and Help for Heroes.

Thank you.