..."I decided to go back to Huyton. When originally stationed there I’d made some good friends. I didn’t go back to Ireland; well not to live anyway – it didn’t seem right somehow after everything that had happened. I married and we raised our family in Liverpool and I’ve stayed in this area ever since."
65 years is a long time and the world has changed. John reflects on D-Day with hindsight...
"Well – we didn’t have the detailed awareness that people have these days. Most everything was done in secret, so we didn’t have any tactical understanding of what was going on at the time. It wasn’t a great crusade; we were doing the job we’d been trained for. Having said that, on the day of the landings we all knew we were involved in something big. We were back in Europe; we were advancing and we were winning. It had to be done. Germany had to be stopped.
We were caught up in the times and of course we knew each day that we might not make it through. After the War I couldn’t take any more marching or military ceremony and it wasn’t until the 50th Anniversary that I became involved with the Normandy Veterans Association. There are memories that we all prefer to avoid, but I’m looking forward to going back for the 65th Anniversary."
John Shanahan is now a sprightly 87. He lives near Chester, and enjoys rambling although admits he can’t walk quite as fast or as far as he used to. In June 2009 D-Day Revisited took John back to Normandy, and to Sword Beach where he landed 65 years ago...
