TWO American D-Day veterans brought tears to people's eyes when they surprised residents at the Friends of MacAndrews Field's Big Lunch celebrations. Donald McCarther and William O'Shea attended the event before heading over to France to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. The two veterans visited the new benches which were made to commemorate the Bedford Boys – a group of Americans who were stationed at MacAndrews Field before the landings. Vera Dumbleton, chairman of the Friends of MacAndrews Field, said: 'It was a wonderful afternoon but the icing on the cake was when we got a surprise visit from two D-Day Veterans from America. 'One of them, Don McCarther, had tears in his eyes when he said he never thought he would see Ivybridge again. I don't think there were many dry eyes around. 'We will be eternally grateful to Rob Endean for arranging the visit. 'The most moving moment was when I introduced Don to two of the serving marines, Tony Jacka and Andy Wickett.'

For the full story see this week's Ivybridge and South Brent Gazette