D-Day, connected 6 June 1944, saw British, American and Canadian troops tempest beaches on the Normandy coastline to statesman the liberation of France from Nazi occupation.
Hay had landed astatine Courseulles-sur-Mer conscionable days aft and was captured by the German 12th SS Panzer Division during a nighttime patrol connected 7-8 July.
He was taken to Zabrze successful Poland, wherever helium was enactment to enactment arsenic a captive of warfare successful a ember mine.
Speaking of the seizure successful 2024, Hay recalled his archetypal feelings were of "dread" and "fear".
"We went retired connected nighttime patrol, was expected to beryllium doing a stroke up of a self-propelled weapon successful nary man's land, but successful fact, it was down their lines," helium said.
"So they fto america done and past precise unfriendly, they sealed it and wouldn't fto america back, truthful we had a battle.
"We had 30 [that] went retired connected our patrol, 16 including my brother, who was a corporal, got back, 5 of america got captured and past presumably 9 got killed."
As the Russians approached, the prisoners were marched to a caller location, astir 1,000 miles away, during which galore of them died.
During the three-month march, Hay said helium erstwhile "lay down to die" aft it became excessively achy to continue, but 2 friends turned backmost for him and lifted him with an "arm astir each shoulder".
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