WE will remember them — that was the message from Okehampton on the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings. The town centre was decorated with Union Jack and St George flags and bunting on Friday, June 6 as a mark of respect in honour of those who took part in the D-Day landings in 1944. Okehampton town councillor and mayor of West Devon Cllr Christine Marsh led a short dedication at the council's offices in Tavistock. In the year of the 70th anniversary of the landings and 100 years since the start of the First World War, Cllr Marsh said it was really important to mark the significant anniversary. She said: 'Seventy years ago, more than two million servicemen and women took part in planning and executing this auspicious and daring campaign and many thousands lost their lives so that we could live in the freedom we have today.' Okehampton town mayor Cllr Paul Vachon has a family connection to the events of D-Day. His father was one of the paratroopers dropped near Pegasus Bridge to back up the glider borne troops in the early hours of D-Day. He said the flags looked marvellous. Cllr Vachon said: 'The flags around the town provide a spirited reminder of the sacrifice of thousands of Allied troops during the landings, and the determination to end the oppressive Nazi regime.' The Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 was the largest seaborne invasion in history. More than 75,000 British, Canadian and other Commonwealth troops landed on the beaches alongside the United States and the free French, in an Allied invasion force of more than 130,000. The operation began the Allied invasion of German-occupied western Europe, led to the restoration of the French Republic, and contributed to an Allied victory in the war.