On June 6, 1944, Donald “Don” Sheppard touched down on a ship tank on the Juno beach in Normandy.
He was one of the 156,000 British, American, and Canadian soldiers that day that landed by air and water. He was a dispatch rider for the Royal Engineers.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, one of the most successful military operations in history that helped bring about the liberation of France and the end of the Second World War when paired with the Soviet advance in the east.
It is estimated that between 4,000 and 9,000 Allied soldiers perished.
The British Normandy Memorial declared Mr. Sheppard’s passing on X on Sunday.
It stated, “We are sorry to learn of the passing of 104-year-old D-Day veteran Donald Sheppard.”
Donald is included in the Winston Churchill Center Royal British Legion exhibition and was present during the Memorial’s virtual opening in 2021. Considering Sandra, Donald’s wife, and her family. Don, rest in peace.
Following their June landing in France, Mr. Sheppard and his friends crossed Nazi lines in August and proceeded to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.
He participated in the efforts to free Germany’s Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, which claimed the lives of over 70,000 individuals, the majority of whom were Soviet or Jewish prisoners of war.
