Ken Hay, 100, attended a remembrance service at the General Montgomery monument in Colleville-Montgomery with fellow Second World War veteran Henry Rice, 100, on Friday.
The 82nd commemoration service, which included a bagpipe procession by the Scotland-based Jedburgh Pipe Band and a wreath-laying by Mr Hay, paid tribute to the heroic actions of British soldiers during the invasion of northern France.
Ken Hay lays a poppy wreath at the Spirit of Normandy Trust service in Coleville-Montgomery (Gareth Fuller/PA)
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Speaking about his memories of the war, Mr Hay, from Upminster, east London, said: “When I talk to children, I have to weed out the horrible bits.
“There’s some horrible things that stay forever.
“I have sleeping pills for the night because it all comes back. And this happens to all the guys, I’m sure.”
Mr Hay served in the 4th Dorset infantry regiment and landed at Courseulles-sur-Mer five days after D-Day.
Veterans Ken Hay (right) and Henry Rice on Sword Beach ahead of the 82nd anniversary of D-Day on Saturday (Gareth Fuller/PA)
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He was captured on the night of July 7-8 and was taken to Zabrze in Poland where he worked as a prisoner of war in a coal mine.
As the Russians approached, the prisoners were marched to a new location, approximately 1,000 miles away, during which many of them died.
Eventually they were liberated by American troops and Mr Hay returned to the UK via Reims, arriving home on May 4.
Mr Hay and Mr Rice will be speaking to French schoolchildren over the next few days, before boarding a ferry back to Portsmouth next week.
Both regularly visit British schools to share stories of the war and answer questions.
Speaking about the talks, Mr Hay added: “A girl, she was 13 years of age, she said, ‘I have a question, how do you stop wars?’ Well, we’re not trained to do this.
“I was stumped. How do you stop wars? And then Saint Paul came to my rescue … I said to her ‘Love. Love yourself, your friends, your family at home, the people you met today, the people you met yesterday’. If we could all do that, there’d be no wars.”
Veterans Ken Hay (front left) and Henry Rice (front right) on a parade to Sword Beach after the Spirit of Normandy Trust service in Coleville-Montgomery (Gareth Fuller/PA)
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Mr Hay and Mr Rice were honoured in the service alongside Blanche Boulet, 107, a French baker turned nurse in the war.
Previously called Colleville-sur-Orne, the town was renamed in June 1946 in honour of the British Commander Field Marshall Montgomery, with a seven feet-tall (2.16 metres) bronze statue of him erected on June 6 1996.
