Major John Howard Memorial, Pegasus Bridge

John Howard was one of nine children born to a working class family in London in 1912. He left school at age 14 years. He rose to the rank of Major in the British Army and in June 1944 led the capture of the Pegasus and Horsa bridges in Normandy ("Operation Deadstick"). He died in 1999, shortly before the opening of the new Memorial Pegasus Museum.
This memorial is sited near Pegasus Bridge where he and his men landed in Horsa Gliders. In his later life he visited this place every year to lay a wreath. (More on Wikipedia under "John Howard (British Army officer)".)