The Mayor of St Albans led the tributes on an emotional day as the city marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Cllr Jamie Day, who was recently elected as the 480th mayor of the city, attended the event at the city centre's War Memorial and was joined by former British Army solider John Gauthier.
Town crier Stephen Potter read a proclamation to remind people of the events of June 6, 1944.
The Rev Mark Dearnley of St Peter's Church then read a poem entitled Normandy, written by D-Day veteran Cyril Crain.
The poem includes the moving verse:
“Come and stand in memory,
Of men who fought and died,
They gave their lives in Normandy,
Remember them with pride.”
A minute's silence was then conducted to remember the fallen.
The Mayor said: “I was very impressed by how many people turned out for this event, coming together to commemorate D-Day.
“There are not many people left now who lived through that historic battle, but it is vitally important that we continue to remember those who fought to uphold our freedom."
As day turned to night, the Mayor lit a beacon at 9.15pm at the village green, in tandem with similar events up and down the country.
Around 50 residents attended the events to pay their respects to all those who fought in the battles 80 years ago
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here