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D-Day Hero Returns To Normandy After Surviving Hammer Attack

D-Day Hero Returns To Normandy After Surviving Hammer Attack

He also attended an event in Portsmouth yesterday

Amelia Ward

Amelia Ward

A D-Day hero has travelled to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of the Allied invasion - less than two years after he was almost murdered on his own doorstep.

The World War Two veteran was a submarine lieutenant on the Normandy landings - and today he travelled to France to be at the D-Day events.

Jim Booth, 97, was left for dead when a fake handyman tried to get into his house after offering to fix the roof of his bungalow.

When Mr Booth refused to let him in, Joseph Isaacs got aggressive and began to attack him with a claw hammer. He shouted: "Money, money, money," before he attacked the war hero, who was involved in a secret operation in the D-Day landings.

Jim was attacked in his own home.
SWNS

Mr Booth was left lying unconscious in a pool of his own blood on the floor of his home in Taunton in Somerset. Isaacs then robbed his bank card and used it to buy fast food.

He managed to make his way to a neighbour's house nearby, bleeding from his head and even hands, where an ambulance was called. His false teeth were also knocked out by the force of the blows from attacker Joseph Isaacs, 40, who was found guilty of attempted murder and jailed for 20 years.

Doctors initially thought that Mr Booth's injuries were life-threatening, with his family being warned to prepare for the worst after the attack. However, he miraculously pulled through.

At first, the brave pensioner did not believe he had lost consciousness, but also didn't recall his wallet being taken. Isaacs was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Jim, who is a great grandfather, is the last surviving member of a ten-man team that spent five days in a submarine guiding soldiers to Sword Beach before the D-Day invasion.

Jim was part of a ten man squad who controlled the D-Day landings.
SWNS

They made the perilous journey across the mine-filled English Channel to spy on the beaches of Normandy, helping to find the best landing spots and guide the ships in for the invasion.

Speaking to The Sun, Mr Booth said: He said: "We knew we were going to invade, but I suppose we sort of pictured that it was just a few ships and things.

"Of course we had no idea of the size of the thing and planning because, thank goodness, there was wonderful security.

"Suddenly the aircraft came down.

"Then another silence but not for very long because then the mist came and this is of course the day I'll never forget.

"Suddenly there it was, I mean just unbelievable. The world was alive with ships!

"Our ships by the thousand - advancing."

As they say, you can't keep a good man down - and Jim truly is a hero.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: uk news