One of the last D-Day heroes has fulfilled his final wish, after being granted a medal recognizing his role in the historic invasion of June 6, 1944.
Don Butt was presented with the medal last week, more than 80 years since he lived through the horrors of the Normandy landings in France.
The 100-year-old said the medal would ‘complete his life’ prompting a race against time to get the French authorities to approve it before he died.
And in an emotional meeting, Don was handed the insignia by the Royal Marines in what his family said was a ‘dream come true’ for him.
Don signed up to the Marines when he was 17 and just a year later was part of the landing crew in the first wave at Juno Beach.
Don was in the direct firing line and watched friends and colleagues killed in front of him. He recalls being in the water and clinging to ropes with bombs and bullets flying all around him to enable waves of troops ashore.
For decades he didn’t speak about the day and has only recently opened up to family and friends, after living with the mistaken belief that he was “too young” to be entitled to a medal.
After sharing his story with a fellow marine, efforts were made on his behalf to get him the Légion d’honneur from the French authorities.
It was confirmed that his age ‘doesn’t matter’ but an initial application for his medal, submitted in 2024, was rejected for reasons that were not disclosed.
Following advice from the Ministry of Defense, a second application was submitted last year—and the French authorities were praised by The Royal Marines Historical Society for speeding up the process when the omission became clear.
“The medal means everything to dad,” said his daughter Karen Cetin of Somerset. “He always said it was something he would love to have.”
“We were in a bit of a race against time. He is 100 and it was very important to him—and to us—that he was recognized before it was too late.
“As a family we are all so proud of his achievements and think he fully deserves it.”
The awarding of the medal was accompanied by a letter from Hélène Duchêne, the Ambassador of France to the United Kingdom:
I have the pleasure of informing you that the President of the Republic has appointed you to the rank of Chevalier in the Ordre national de la Légion d’Honneur by decree of 13 June 2025.
I offer you my warmest congratulations for this high honor, which recognizes your military engagement and steadfast involvement in the Liberation of France during the Second World War.
As we contemplate this Europe of peace, we must never forget the heroes like you who came from Britain and Commonwealth to begin the liberation of Europe by liberating France. We owe our freedom and security to your dedication, because you were ready to risk your life.
Speaking from his care home about his new medal, Don said: “It’s the last one missing from my medals. It is my final ambition—my final wish—to get that medal.
“It would make all the places I’ve been, and what I’ve done, complete.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: War Hero Codebreaker Alan Turing’s Papers Found in Loft And Saved From Shredder to Fetch Record $625,000
“I’ve just had my 100th birthday which was wonderful. My worries have all gone. I can not thank everyone enough for trying.”
He previously acknowledged he never applied for one after leaving the marines and hadn’t thought about it until he shared his story with a fellow former marine who “got the ball rolling. “He was able to get my records and help me apply.”
Don, a father-of-four, who has great-great-grandchildren and was married for 66 years, had previously said he was just 17-and-a-half when he first went into the marines.
“We were on the landing craft that took over French and Canadians on D-Day. I couldn’t go fully onto the beach. That was the officer’s orders. He said ‘you must not go up the beach—you are too young.’
“Our job was to land the troops, come back and then go back again. We went back to the ship and then went back three times to land troops in Cherbourg.
“I can still see all the D-Day landing troops going in. The sea was very rough and we were surrounded by all the carnage of war.
MORE HEROES TO REMEMBER:
• D-Day Hero Gets Over 200 Cards to Celebrate His 100th Birthday
• A Stranger’s Kindness Helped Boy Escape the Nazis Who Would Go On to Win Nobel Prize–And He Never Knew it
• US Honors 98-yo Irish Woman Whose Storm Forecast Fortuitously Delayed D-Day Landings, Changing Course of WWII
“There were shots going off everywhere, shells, bombs. I remember all that. I was very frightened, of course, but after a few minutes you sort of settle down and get used to it in a strange way.
“I had my friends with me and when you feel you’ve got your mate with you, you feel more secure.
“We were lucky overall. We only lost one man from our regiment. But I can remember it vividly—there were just so many ships.”
In total he clocked up a staggering 42,000 miles at sea during the war.
Daughter Karen said he only started talking about his war time exploits very recently.
“I am really glad he has started to talk about it. It’s a horrible thing to deal with and never talk about. I am so pleased he opened up and got it off his chest. He is just a modest man and I think only last year he realized how proud of himself he should be.”
John Rawlinson, of the Royal Marines Historical Society, who helped Don with his application said: “We are delighted that Don has received his medal, as a young man he was one of the generation who were willing to give all for their country and their friends and families.
“The Royal Marines and the wider Commando community are proud he is one of their family—once a marine, always a marine.”
CONSIDER SHARING THE STORY With WWII Fans On Social Media…