D-Day anniversary 2024

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU. CHISU, CD, PMSC, FEC, CET, P. Eng. Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East nIn Canada today, we are at war with high inflation, uncertain economic times and international tension due to the continuing war in Ukraine and the Middle East. We therefore need to remember as never before, and reflect on the sacrifices that our ancestors have made for us. They should not have fought in vain to secure our freedom, to keep democracy alive in our country and the comfortable standard of living that we have enjoyed for generations. It is time to cherish their memory and learn from their patriotism. We need to ensure that their efforts to win over the evils of fascism were not in vain. Particularly during this new dark period that threatens our very existence, we need to keep up our courage and stand up against our adversaries as our ancestors have done. We need to stay strong in the face of today’s unprecedented challenges. We are currently facing a crucial time in our history in fighting the evil of an unknown upcoming new world order and related societal malaises. In combination, the consequences of the past pandemic and social dysfunction are similar to fighting a new kind of world war with worldwide consequences and yet unforeseen effects on Canadians. On 6 June we are marking the eightieth anniversary of D-Day, the beginning of the Battle of Normandy, along a 100 km stretch of French coastline across the English Channel from Great Britain. This was the largest seaborne invasion in history and a crucial day in winning the war against evil; Nazi Germany. The assault on the beaches of Normandy by British, American, and Canadian troops on the 6th of June 1944, who would then fight their way across Western Europe, has gone down in history as a memorable event. The codenames of where the troops landed — Omaha and Utah for the Americans, Gold and Sword for the British, and Juno for the Canadians — remain familiar today. The Normandy landings, Operation Overlord, marked the beginning of the end of six long years of conflict between Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany and the Allied forces. The development of the role for Canada in the D-Day invasion has a history going back a few years. Following the Dunkirk evacuation Canadians began to come over to Great Britain. They were well-prepared and took on the role of defending the British Isles. They built up around the south coast of England and operated in a defensive and anti-invasion role from May 1940 to July 1943. At that time the 1st Canadian Division was detached and sent to Italy, but the bulk of Canadian forces remained in Britain for all those years. Canadian sailors, soldiers and airmen played a critical role in the Allied invasion of Normandy, beginning the bloody campaign to liberate Western Europe from Nazi occupation. Nearly 150,000 Allied troops landed or parachuted into the invasion area on D-Day, including 14,000 Canadians at Juno Beach. The Royal Canadian Navy contributed 110 ships and 10,000 sailors and the RCAF contributed 15 fighter and fighter-bomber squadrons to the assault. Total Allied casualties on D-Day reached more than 10,000. By the end of the Battle of Normandy, the Allies had suffered 209,000 casualties, including more than 18,700 Canadians. Over 5,000 Canadian soldiers died. From the D-Day landings on the 6th of June 1944 through to the encirclement of the German army at Falaise on the 21st of August this was one of the pivotal events of the Second World War and the scene of some of Canada's greatest feats of arms. Juno Beach was the Allied code name for a 10 km stretch of French coast. It fell to more than 14,000 volunteer soldiers from across Canada, under Major-General Rod Keller, commander of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, to storm the Juno Beach coast line. They seized the beach and its seaside villages while under intense fire from German defenders — an extraordinary example of military skill, reinforced by countless acts of personal courage. The 3rd Infantry Division took heavy casualties in its first wave of attack but took control of the beach by the end of the day. There were 1,074 Canadian casualties, including 359 killed. All things considered, the Canadian troops did very well on D-Day. The Canadians and the British in the Gold and Juno sector made it farther inland than any of the other invasion forces. They had managed to link up their forward units some distance inland, which was a measure of success. At the end of the day, the Queen’s Own Rifles had actually captured its objective, which was short of the overall divisional objective but goes to show that some of the Canadian units were quite successful in the first hours. Their sacrifices will not be forgotten even though their generation is starting to fade into the fog of history. For the time being D-Day still seems to be in the Canadian public’s consciousness. Their memory must be preserved for the millennials and generations to come in order to eliminate the causes of further conflagrations. D-Day embodied the courage and determination to prevail in that war. It was fought over issues that are still alive today — such as ideology, globalism and injustice. It was an exceptionally difficult and hazardous military operation. It was an operation in which Canadians took a major central role in the war to preserve freedom and democracy. For these reasons and more, it’s important to keep the memory of D-Day alive. The dead, along with scores of other Canadians killed in the fighting during the weeks that followed, are buried in the serene and beautiful Canadian War Cemetery at Bény-sur-Mer, just behind Juno Beach. This, and numerous other memorials throughout Courseulles, Bernières and St. Aubin-sur-Mer, commemorate Canada’s sacrifice on D-Day. A private museum, the Juno Beach Centre, overlooking the beach at Courseulles, also tells the story of Canada’s role in the invasion of Normandy. Every year on the 6th of June, the people of the villages along Juno Beach pay tribute to the men and women who fought and died there. They parade through streets festooned with maple leaf flags and hold services and vigils along parts of the seawall, in memory of their Canadian liberators. Long live their memory! Long live the courage those men and women demonstrated. May our current generations and governments show just as much courage in our current hour of need. We can’t afford to wait for someone else to fight for our rights and freedom. We must all take a stand against the tyranny of incompetent leadership, political correctness at the expense of merit, and the stripping away of our individual freedoms in the name of political expediency. Wake up Canada! Have we forgotten; what are we waiting for?