Islander Clive Kemp landed on Sword Beach on 6 June 1944 and was a member of the Royal Engineers team that built the first makeshift Bailey bridge across the Caen Canal in Bénouville.
The permanent Pegasus Bridge in the small town was a key strategic objective as the Allies tried to establish a foothold in northern France, so was captured at the start of the offensive by British paratroopers.
Mr Kemp died last November and his ashes were scattered at the site where he helped build the Bailey bridge.
A group of 50 Islanders, including D-Day veterans Harry Fenn and Billy Reynolds, as well as St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft and Chief Minster John Le Fondré, travelled to Normandy to attend the ceremony on Sunday.
Addressing the attendees, Mr Crowcroft said that he hoped that the sacrifices made on D-Day continued to be honoured by future generations.
‘We will continue to remember the Normandy veterans and their partners and families,’ he said.
‘I hope that the young people on this trip today will retain a lasting impression of these acts of remembrance and that they will come here when we are long gone to learn about the liberation of Europe and give thanks to the countless acts of courage and self-sacrifice that have allowed us to enjoy lives of freedom.’
He told attendees that Mr Kemp befriended a four-year-old girl called Arlette Gondrée, whose family ran a café next to the Pegasus Bridge that is believed to have been the first house to be liberated in France.
Madame Gondrée eventually took over the family business and runs it to this day, having welcomed former servicemen through its doors for decades.
Historian Chris Stone also paid tribute to his long-term friend Clive before his ashes were scattered by his widow Mary.
‘On this very spot the very first Bailey bridge in occupied France was built by the Royal Engineers, including Clive,’ said Mr Stone.
‘75 years ago you probably would have still been able to see Clive’s boot prints in the mud of this riverbank.’
Mr Stone explained that Clive regularly visited the grave of a man called George Dransfield, who died during the war, at nearby Bénouville Church Cemetery.
Mr Dransfield was shot dead by a sniper after switching places with Clive while riding in a military vehicle.
‘Clive meant it when he said that he really wasn’t a hero – he said that the heroes were the ones who didn’t make it back,’ said Mr Stone.
Local poet Juliette Hart also read a tribute piece at the ceremony.
