"The last surviving British D-Day light bomber pilot, who laid smoke over the beaches during a heroic mission to shield the Allied forces from enemy fire, has died, aged 95. RAF Flying Officer Leslie Valentine, from Hethe, Oxfordshire, received the Defence Medal for the vital role he played in the D-Day invasion in 1944. Then aged 24, he flew his Douglas Boston E Easy light bomber fast and low, 50 ft above the Normandy shoreline amid a barrage from Royal Navy gunships and German 88 heavy artillery defences. Two planes were lost but in the mission to lay down protecting smoke for the invading forces, but Flt Officer Valentine returned safely to his base in Hampshire. Flying 60 operations back-to-back during the war, Mr Valentine carried out many other sorties across France, sabotaging supply lines to disrupt transport of enemy reinforcements. His targets included road bridges, rail yards, road transport convoys, submarine pens and V1 rocket launching sites. Mr Valentine, who died at a nursing home, was one of two British servicemen who held the Croix de Guerre [war cross] with Silver Star, one of France's highest accolades for heroic deeds performed in the liberation of France. He originally missed out receiving the Defence Medal for his service with the Highland Light Infantry because he had volunteered for the RAF and went off training. The Government rectified the oversight in 2012, when Mr Valentine was presented with his Medal by David Cameron at Downing Street. The Prime Minister hailed the Glasgow-born Mr Valentine’s “extraordinary bravery”. " http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hero-dday-pilot-last-surviving-light-bomber-who-laid-down-smokescreen-for-invading-troops-dies-aged-95-9275175.html
