LOOKING along the Normandy coastline from the safe haven of 2004, it is difficult to imagine that 60 years ago tomorrow thousands of soldiers landed here.

Today it is the beauty, peace and tranquillity that strike you as the water laps on to the sand of the five beaches codenamed Omah, Utah, Gold, Juno and Sword by the military strategists who planned the D-Day operation.

Only the remains of the Mulberry Harbour at Arromanches offers a stark reminder of the scale of the fighting that cost 100,000 lives as the Allied forces made their do or die advance into occupied France.

Memorials to some of those who died in combat - such as those at St Aubin-Sur-Mer - along the promenade are a constant reminder of the scale of the loss of life.

With just a day to go to the exact anniversary of the start of the D-day landings the people of the Calvados region are preparing to pay their respects on such a grand scale for the very last time.

The tricolour is everywhere - attached to telegraph poles, hanging out of windows and between lamp posts.

But the ubiquitous red, white and blue stripes are joined in equal measure by the Union Jacks, Canadian and US flags.

In every village along the Normandy coastline, between the mouth of the Orne and Les Dunes de Varneville, there is a colourful tribute to the heroism of every soldier who risked their life to liberate occupied France.

Plastic flags of all shapes and sizes flutter in the gentle breeze along the narrow, winding roads and in well-kept gardens as helicopters circle overhead in one of the biggest security operations France has ever seen.

The threat of a terrorist attack had brought 800 soldiers, 50 military helicopters and two squadrons of Mirage 2000 fighters to the region that will shut down completely tomorrow with widespread road closures throughout the day.

Diversions are already in place around Arromanches where the main commemorative ceremony is to be attended by 17 heads of state including the Queen and US President George Bush.

A dummy exercise was held yesterday to practise the response to a nuclear attack and radar equipment has been put in place to monitor the skies above Normandy.

Fishermen have also been banned from the Seaine bay stretching along the five landing beaches.

Inland, vintage jeeps and other military vehicles wind their way through the meandering narrow lanes between the lush fields and gentle sand dunes as men and women try to recreate a slice of history.

Lecturer Mike Stott, 59, is one such member of a living history society re-enacting the different roles played by the Royal Corps of Signallers.

He said: "I get a lot of pleasure in re-enacting how the Allies had their own radio stations."

Veronique Costil, 41, the owner of Les Alizes cafe in Courseuilles-Sur-Mer, is preparing to close all day tomorrow but says it is a privilege to be part of the 60th anniversary commemorations.

"It's very good to be doing something. We owe so much to all these men. This year is extra special because it could be the last."

Jan Herve, 70, a local correspondent for the regional newspaper Ouest France said: " Across France this is a really important occasion. It is formidable that the veterans have come over. All the television and radio channels and newspapers are devoting lots of time to it. It will perhaps be the last time we can celebrate the landings. In ten years' time many of the veterans will be dead."

He said that there were people in his village of St Aubin-Sur-Mer who were children in 1944 and remember being liberated.

One such man is 75-year-old Roger Simeon, who has lived all his life in the village of Colleville-Sur-Mer. He remembers waking up to the noise of German mortars and shells.

He said: "I was 15 years old at the time and I remember hearing all these noises. We never spoke to the American soldiers until the whole region was liberated. I remember then that is when they gave me some chocolate."

At the time Mr Simeon was learning to become a baker while his two brothers Lucien and Eugene, both in their 20s, were fighting in Germany.

With tears in his eyes Mr Simeon remembered how Lucien was taken as prisoner of war and was permanently disabled.

The father of nine said: '"I am glad that there are events going on along all the beaches because it was not just the Americans who came to Collville-Sur-Mer but the English and other allied troops who landed along the coastline."

Tomorrow, all those who risked their lives to end the Nazi occupation will be remembered.

Take a look online at or HAMPSHIRE AT WAR special website

See the Saturday Review from page nine for more D-Day coverage.