Northern Ireland

US 'D-Day' veteran admits he was in Northern Ireland at time of 1944 landings

US Second World War veteran George G Klein had admitted he was not part of an elite D-Day force. Picture from Overlord D-Day Association/Facebook
US Second World War veteran George G Klein had admitted he was not part of an elite D-Day force. Picture from Overlord D-Day Association/Facebook US Second World War veteran George G Klein had admitted he was not part of an elite D-Day force. Picture from Overlord D-Day Association/Facebook

A 96-YEAR-OLD US veteran awarded the highest military honours for taking part in a D-Day assault has admitted he was actually in Northern Ireland at the time of the attack.

George G Klein was handed the Purple Heart and Bronze Star in the US and the French Légion d'honneur for his part in the daring Second World War assault.

He had claimed he was among a group of soldiers asked to secure the Normandy coast between Omaha and Utah beaches on June 6 1944.

The soldiers had to climb 100ft cliffs before taking out German artillery positions.

Earlier this year Mr Klein was flown to France during the 73rd D-Day celebrations and was pictured at the cliffs he claimed to have scaled.

But he was later forced to admit he had made up his role after two Second World War historians could find no record of him at D-Day.

He was actually stationed in Northern Ireland at the time and did not enter France until the following month.

Mr Klein was later wounded in action in Germany on November 17 1944.

Despite his admission, the Overlord D-Day Association, which raised money to fly him to France, has been supportive.

They said he should "not be ashamed of his real contribution to the liberation of Europe".

"Trapped into a lie that shaped him in the eyes of his entourage, and from which he could no longer escape, he finally resolved to tell the truth," they said.