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The experiences that informed the song are still very much alive for Radford, who recalls the D-Day landings with outstanding clarity.

\"Your main concern [in the fighting] is not to let your comrades down,\" he told ABC News. \"You're not thinking about king or country, you're not thinking about democracy. You're thinking about, 'My mates depend on me, as I depend on them.' That stayed with me. Anyone who was in Normandy, we all feel that bond to each other. And especially to all the lads who didn't come back.\"

\"PHOTO:
Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images
PHOTO: Veteran Jim Radford on stage during The Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance matinee performance at Royal Albert Hall on Nov. 8, 2014, in London.
>

Radford, now a member of an anti-war organization called Veterans for Peace, said he hopes the song will shed new light on the experiences of those who died during the second World War.

\"The significance and seriousness has been forgotten,\" he said. \"I don't think youngsters nowadays realize just how serious it was … 1 in every 4 merchant navy seamen was killed during the war.\"

\"PHOTO:
Guy Davies/ABC News
PHOTO: Veteran Jim Radford is pictured at St. Paul's Gardens in London in 2019.
>

And although Radford batted off questions about his recent fame -- \"It won't last!\" he said -- he is clearly delighted with the success of \"Shores of Normandy.\"

\"We want you all to download the video … and you'll help us build this memorial,\" he said. \"The message I want to get across is that we must not let this happen again.\"

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