June 6 marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the day in which Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy and began the process of liberating France from German occupation.
It’s widely regarded as the turning point of the Second World War. By that point, the Allied Forces had already scored some victories over their German foes. And the Allies had made significant inroads into Italy.
But when the Allied soldiers made landfall at Juno Beach on June 6, 1944, and started the process of liberating France – a quest that would ultimately prove successful – it moved the Germans closer to defeat.
Ultimately, the war would be over less than a year later.
Who knows how the war would have turned out if the Allied soldiers weren't successful.
When some people talk about D-Day, it’s easy to imagine that as a rout, in which the Allied Forces dominated their foes. It wasn’t.
And it was a day that required extensive planning.
Allied Forces were supposed to invade on May 1, 1944. That date was pushed back to June 4. Due to weather conditions that were not co-operative, the invasion was pushed back another two days.
And it definitely wasn’t domination.
Canada’s contribution to D-Day cannot be ignored.
Canada brought more than 100 ships and about 10,000 sailors. Its total support amounted to about 14,000 soldiers. There were more than 350 Canadians who died, and more than 1,000 total Canadian casualties.
But it should also be noted that Canadian soldiers were the only ones to meet their objective on D-Day. The Regina Rifles pushed the furthest inland and met their objective.
When you think about it, it’s a pretty incredible accomplishment that a country that was less than 80 years old, and had a much smaller contingent of soldiers than the British and the Americans, could accomplish what those much more power nations couldn’t do.
I’ve long maintained that our military history should be a source of great pride for Canadians. Our contributions to military conflicts, including the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the War in Afghanistan and others should be something to be proud of. We should also be proud of the peacekeepers who have served this country.
Unfortunately, the details of Canada’s service are not talked about to the degree that they should be. And that leaves generations who aren’t fully aware of what Canada did in Vimy Ridge, at Juno Beach, in the Netherlands and so many other situations, even in this day and age in which so much information is available at our fingertips.
Sure, we’ll mark Remembrance Day, and there is a greater appreciation for Remembrance Day than there was 20 years ago. And when you see anniversaries like the 75th anniversary of D-Day, or the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the public will stand up and pay closer attention.
But then that information will fade in time, and our awareness of these moments in Canadian history will fade to what it was a few years earlier.
One of the saddest parts of all when it comes to D-Day is there are so few veterans remaining who fought in it. Even if a soldier lied about their age to join the Canadian Forces and managed to fight in D-Day, that soldier would now be in their 90s.
About three dozen Canadian veterans were at the 75th anniversary ceremony on June 6. You have to wonder if any of them will be there for the 80th.
Among those who are left, there are fewer who can remember D-Day. And among those who remain and remember it, there are still a lot who won’t talk about it.
And that’s their choice. They witnessed some horrible things in June 1944. If they want to share their stories, they should be applauded for it. But if they don’t want to, you can’t criticize them for it, either.
D-Day has a personal connection for me. My Grandpa Willberg, or Papa, as we knew him, was among the Canadian soldiers who participated in the Normandy invasion. Of course, he survived the battle and eventually returned home to southwest Saskatchewan. Soon he was married and started a family.
He had a stroke when I was 11, and he died when I was 22. He didn’t talk about what happened during the war, although he’d discuss some of the good times that he had with his fellow soldiers.
And I wasn’t mature enough to understand what he had done for his country, or to thank him for his service. I wish I had.
But it was his choice not to talk about his experiences.
It’s the same story for my Grandpa Leguee. He didn’t talk about his war experiences, either, other than the friends he made and the good times that they had in the face of a war.
It’s their choice. But I know that I owe them everything, up to and including the ability to write an opinion piece in a newspaper each week.
The impact of D-Day can never be diminished.
And the role that Canada played in this most important battle can never be denied, either.
