A MORECAMBE man who lied about his age to join up and fight for his country in World War II may be late on parade at the age of 80.
Jim Johnston was six months too young when he signed up as a Rifleman during the 1939-45 conflict. He was part of the Allied landing force which sailed to France on D-Day - June 6, 1944.
But now he will miss out on the last-ever D-Day parade to be held in France on the 60th anniversary of the landings.
Jim has had to drop his plan to join a trip to Normandy to take part in a D-Day parade and pay his respects to fallen comrades because the price of the visit jumped from £280 to £449 - and he says he simply cannot afford it.
A member of the Normandy Veterans Association, he says he was left with no option other than to cancel and lose his £50 deposit.
"Who can afford that amount of money on a pension? I am sad because it means everything to me - I have never been back to the place since I was dispatched," says Jim, of Sylvan Place, Heysham.
"Next year the veterans are being disbanded and so this will be the last chance to take part in the parade."
Jim was a member of the Ninth Cameronians Scottish Rifles way back in 1944.
"I want to go in memory of friends and colleagues who died on the front line," he says.
He still carries vivid memories of the bloodshed and terror of fighting in the cornfields of the French countryside - and the jubilation of his dispatch while lying in a hospital bed after being wounded.
At the age of 20, Jim even hit the headlines of the New York Times for his philosophical views on German prisoners.
As he was walking with two prisoners, an American reporter quoted him as saying: "They're harmless. Surrendered like bloody lambs, they did."
o CAN you help Jim to make his dream trip to France? Call the Citizen on 01524-520264.
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