'Freedom has a cost': D-Day veteran tells Normandy children
101-year old American Irving Locker shares message on visit to schools
Irving Locker, 101, visited the Normandy landing grounds a part of the D-Day commemorations (pictured at the Standing with Giants memorial on Gold Beach, third from right)
Gerald Villena / Shutterstock / British Normandy Memorial / Facebook
One of the last surviving D-Day veterans has returned to Normandy aged 101 and shared a simple message with local schoolchildren: freedom comes at a cost.
American Irving Locker, who was among the first waves of troops to land on Utah Beach on June 6, 1944, was part of a small group of Second World War veterans taking part in commemorations to mark the 82nd anniversary of the Allied landings.
The former US Army sergeant, who was 19 on D-Day, met children in Normandy schools and attended remembrance ceremonies across the Manche department.
"It is a privilege and an honour to come back," Mr Locker said during a ceremony at the Carré de Choux memorial site in Carentan-les-Marais.
The veteran, who turns 102 in August, remained standing throughout the national anthems before posing for photographs and signing autographs for younger generations.
"For me, that is the best moment," he said.
Passing on the memory of D-Day
At a primary school in Geffosses, near the Normandy coast, children welcomed Mr Locker and fellow veterans, waving French and American flags.
Mr Locker served in the 116th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion and later fought in the Battle of the Bulge and advanced into Germany.
His visits to schools form part of a wider effort to pass on memories of World War Two as the number of surviving veterans continues to decline.
Last year, Mr Locker released a song entitled If Freedom Was Free, inspired by his wartime experiences. The lyrics recall the sacrifices made during the Normandy campaign and carry the message he frequently shares with young audiences.
"People have to know and appreciate the fact that they are living because of men who died," he told the Associated Press in 2025. "It comes from the heart, not the lips."
New names added to memorial
The same sentiment was echoed in numerous D-day ceremonies along the Normandy coast.
At the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, 98 additional names of servicemen killed during the Battle of Normandy were added to the memorial's roll of honour, bringing the total to 22,540.
The names were identified after years of research into incomplete or contradictory wartime records.
Schoolchildren joined relatives of the fallen at the ceremony, laying roses as the names were read aloud.
Organisers said the memorial's mission includes encouraging younger generations to continue the work of remembrance.
The importance of that task was also highlighted in Carentan. Speaking at the commemorations, mayor Rosine Lesieur said the veterans' experiences were a reminder that "democracy is never permanently guaranteed".
Yet Mr Locker also delivered his message with characteristic humour. “D-Day was one of the only times in my life I have been happy to be small,” said the four-foot-nine centenarian.
"The bullets all went over my head."
