IT is an image which symbolises what the 60th anniversary of D-Day is all about.

On Page three of today's edition of The Northern Echo, Cyril Ager, 79, is pictured holding the hand of four-year-old Michael Sheehan on the beach at Arromanches.

Sixty years earlier, Cyril had jumped onto the same beach to fight for freedom as a young man of 20, not knowing if he would survive the day.

"We did what we did so youngsters like this could play and live in freedom, without fear," said Cyril.

Michael's parents, who had taken him and his sister Connie to Normandy to witness the D-Day commemoration, vowed to ensure that their children would grow up understanding the sacrifice Cyril's generation had made.

And that is absolutely right. It is 60 years ago and, for many who set foot on those beaches in 1944, that is three times as long as they were destined to live.

Little more than children themselves, they deserve to be remembered by the generations to come - and it is the responsibility of parents to make sure they are.