A SALUTE from the Royal British Legion was just one of many emotional moments for Walter Jones at his surprise 80th birthday party.
It was the last thing he was expecting when he went to the Ram's Head pub in Stand Lane, Radcliffe, on Tuesday for his usual pint.
His wife Jean (64) and his friend Vera Brierley (68) had spent weeks plotting a landmark birthday.
"I was totally overwhelmed. It was out of this world," said Walter, who is the vice-chairman of the Bury branch of the Royal British Legion.
When members of Radcliffe British Legion marched into the pub, complete with standard bearer, and gave him a salute, Walter was overcome with emotion .
"With it being so close to Remembrance Sunday, it made it all the more poignant," he said.
Walter, of Nuttall Street, Bury,was a Lancashire Fusilier and participated in the Normandy Landings in the Royal Engineers in the Second World War.
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