Sixty-three years ago, Allied troops leapt from the landing craft on to the beaches of Normandy and the battle to free mainland Europe from the Nazi jackboot began.

It remains to be seen whether peace will be restored to Afghanistan in the nine months it took to silence the German guns in Europe, but on the day the world remembered the D-Day landings, Tony Blair has paid tribute to the British troops who are attempting to bring hope and stability to that troubled country.

Among those troops, of course, are the soldiers of the Worcestershire & Sherwood Foresters, fondly known as the Woofers, in one of their last tours of duty before the historic regiment is subsumed into a larger unit.

The men and women from Worcestershire will not be thinking about the rights and wrongs of the so-called war on terror, the issue that has dominated the recent political agenda like no other, as they go about their difficult task.

They will simply be doing what they have been trained to do, just like the courageous men who braved the Wehrmacht's machine guns in 1944.

The war against Nazi Germany may have been clearer-cut morally, but that should not diminish our esteem for the troops who are putting their lives on the line in Afghanistan today.

And we should not read any political dimension into the praise from a prime minister who will shortly be closing the door of 10 Downing Street for the last time.

We should simply join him in saluting the soldiers of this county who are doing a dangerous job with dedication, courage and efficiency.