Ms Mordaunt says next year’s 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ hold special significance (Image: Getty)
These victories were a lifetime ago. This may be the last significant anniversary where we will have those who lived through it with us.
Blesma [the Limbless Veterans charity] estimates that in the UK there are about 70,000 Second World War veterans who would be able to give personal testimony about the unfathomable sacrifice and horrors they and their colleagues endured for our sake.
I hope many years for now we will still mark VE and VJ day, but the 80th anniversary next year is particularly poignant, with these men and women still alongside us.
We know the history, the battles, the key moments, the politics. But it is the personal that we must know more about. Mates they wish to honour. Sweethearts lost. Personal courage and endurance. Their motivation. And our gratitude for a debt that can never be repaid.
Commemorations are being planned. Beacons and lamps of peace will be lit, communities will come together. Church bells will toll, but we should also make time to listen to those who were there. That is the only way we will truly understand what was done. And the only way we will understand why.
That last opportunity to learn is not the only reason these events next year will be so significant. They will take place against a backdrop of war, on the edge of Europe.
These remaining souls will tell you that peace cannot be secured with appeasement. Freedom is never free. We do not have to imagine the horrors they faced; we can look at . But what awaits nations not prepared to defend the interests and the safety and security of their people is far worse.
So many rose to the challenge of the age, so many died to defend our freedoms and all of humanity.
As our generation considers the challenges we face, I hope we are worthy of their legacy.
Next year, in between the services, fanfare and fetes, let us listen to their wisdom and what is in their hearts. I think we all have much still to learn.