D-Day remembrance must help Britain understand veterans still serving today

Some will say that the Second World War is fading from relevance. But they’re wrong. Commemorative days, like D-Day, still have vital work to do - connecting people with the Armed Forces, the price of democracy, and the values of service and community today.

I meet veterans every week, and time and time again I’m reminded that, for many, their challenges are just beginning when service ends.

At RBVE, we support veterans from every generation. Many have had their military careers end abruptly through medical discharge, trauma or circumstances they never foresaw.

By the time they reach us, they are trying to make sense of that sudden loss of identity and purpose while searching for work, coping with trauma, living with new disabilities, and ultimately trying to regain a sense of stability.

One of the veterans I have come to know well over the years embodies this reality. They arrived at RBVE in their thirties after more than two decades of service across Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. They were a highly decorated and respected member of their unit, yet none of that protected them from the toll that years of intense operational service eventually took.

The nature of the deployments, combined with repeated injuries and major surgeries, eventually led to a medical discharge they never expected. When they first came to us, they described feeling as though the life they had built had vanished overnight, leaving them without the structure and purpose that had shaped them for so long.

This story is one of many. Countless veterans find themselves facing a sudden and stark reality: no job, no stable home, no community around them, and no clear sense of where to turn next.

That is why national moments of reflection on military service are so important. They are not only about looking back and recognising those who have served, but also about bringing today’s veterans and the realities of modern service to the forefront of our minds and national conversations.

VE Day offers one such moment. It marks the end of the Second World War in Europe and the extraordinary sacrifice of those who served then, but it also prompts us to consider what we want the next generation to understand about those who serve today.

Our recent polling shows that a third of the British public cannot correctly identify what VE Day commemorates. Among Gen Z, that falls to just 34%. Moreover, only 23% of the public believes younger generations are well informed about those who serve or have served.

This is not a criticism of young people, but a reminder that we all share responsibility for telling the full story of service and sacrifice.

For older generations, military service was woven into family life. We had fathers, grandfathers and uncles who served in the Second World War or National Service. It was closer to home. For young people today, that lived connection is far less common. Many do not know someone who has served, and their understanding is often limited to Remembrance Sunday or school lessons.

But veterans are not only figures from the past or one type of person. They are people living in communities across Britain today. They are parents, colleagues, neighbours and friends. They may have served for years, or their military career may have ended before it properly began. Their experiences are varied, but the transition can be profound.

The veteran I mentioned earlier said the aftermath of service was even harder than the discharge itself. Chronic pain, PTSD and the loss of routine left them struggling to cope, and they eventually turned to alcohol before being hospitalised.

At RBVE, they received safe accommodation and structured rehabilitation support. With time and consistency, they rebuilt their strength. They have now been alcohol-free for years and manage their PTSD with techniques learned through ongoing support.

“With physical injuries, you can see the scars,” they once told me. “With your mind, you don’t know how to adapt.” Today, they live independently with RBVE’s Village and show other veterans that recovery is possible.

This experience is reflected in our polling, which shows that 61% of Britons see mental health as the biggest challenge facing veterans. In comparison, 47% identify adjusting to civilian life as one of the hardest parts of the transition.

That instinct is right. The support veterans need, and what we strive to offer at RBVE, is practical and long‑term.

When young people have the chance to hear the stories of the veterans we support, they respond with compassion and interest. Interest in the individuals, but also why veterans make the sacrifices they do for society, for democracy, and for peace.

Next VE Day, let’s hope more young people understand what VE Day commemorates and why such days are so important.

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Lisa Farmer is the CEO of Royal British Veterans Enterprise.

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