Re: D-Day

by Ranger Thu 06 Jun 2019, 3:14 pm

Hundreds Gather on Omaha Beach at Sunrise to Honor D-Day Veterans

TicToc by Bloomberg
Published on Jun 6, 2019

by Marshall Thu 06 Jun 2019, 6:34 pm

'A place for all soldiers': Canadian veterans gather in Normandy to remember

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Jun 06, 2019

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Veteran of the Second World War Roy Hare stands and looks out from Juno Beach following the D-Day 75th Anniversary Canadian National Commemorative Ceremony at Juno Beach in Courseulles-Sur-Mer, France on Thursday, June 6, 2019.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/dday-normandy-juno-trudeau-second-world-war-1.5165066

by Marshall Thu 06 Jun 2019, 6:36 pm

'I'm a very fortunate guy': Windsor veteran in France for 75th D-Day anniversary

CBC News · Posted: Jun 06, 2019

Charles Davis, centre, was one of the veterans Canada sent to the D-Day remembrance anniversary in France.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/d-day-windsor-1.5164870

by Marshall Thu 06 Jun 2019, 6:39 pm

Canadian military members gather to remember first troops to arrive on Juno Beach

For the anniversary of D-Day, military members gathered in Oromocto to remember New Brunswick’s North Shore Regiment. Morganne Campbell reports.

June 6 2019

by Marshall Thu 06 Jun 2019, 6:42 pm

D-Day remembered in Ottawa 75 years later

CTV Ottawa
Published Thursday, June 6, 2019

https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/d-day-remembered-in-ottawa-75-years-later-1.4455339

by Firestrike Fri 07 Jun 2019, 7:45 am

Andrew Scheer turned down D-Day ceremony invitation for family commitment

By Alex BoutilierOttawa Bureau
Thu., June 6, 2019

OTTAWA—Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer missed the ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy on Thursday so he could attend a University of Regina graduation where his family members received honorary degrees.

Scheer’s office confirmed that the Opposition leader declined an invitation to be part of the official Canadian delegation in Normandy so that he could go to the ceremony in Regina on Wednesday.

“Mr. Scheer’s brother-in-law and mother-in-law are receiving honorary degrees from the U of R this week and he will attend the ceremony,” press secretary Daniel Schow wrote Thursday in a statement to the Star.

Scheer’s brother-in-law, former Seattle Seahawks punter Jon Ryan, and his mother-in-law, Barb Ryan, were each awarded an honorary doctor of laws from the University of Regina on Wednesday afternoon.

Ryan spent 12 seasons in the NFL and won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks in 2014, and now has a one-year deal with his hometown Roughriders. Barb Ryan is a prolific volunteer who was recognized for helping refugees, immigrants and international students find homes in Regina.

Canada sent an official delegation to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, when 14,000 Canadians stormed the beaches with Allied forces on June 6, 1944. The Canadians suffered more than 1,000 casualties, including 359 deaths, during the battle.

This year’s ceremony was expected to mark the last major anniversary for which Canadian D-Day veterans will be in attendance.

The official delegation included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, six parliamentarians and Sen. Robert Black. Phil McColeman, the Conservatives’ veterans’ affairs critic, and MP Steven Blaney are representing the Official Opposition at the ceremony.

Schow initially said the Conservatives suggested deputy leader Lisa Raitt go in Scheer’s place but were turned down by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The PMO clarified that the Conservatives had not specifically suggested Raitt, but had offered to send an unnamed MP. Schow later confirmed the PMO’s account. He also said Scheer planned to attend a D-Day ceremony in his riding.

In a statement on Facebook, Scheer said, “Canadians across this great country owe the freedom we enjoy to those courageous soldiers.

“We remember with pride the part that our brave men and women played in defeating Nazi tyranny,” he wrote, “and we hold in our hearts immense gratitude for the ultimate sacrifice made by so many Canadian soldiers.”

https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2019/06/06/andrew-scheer-turned-down-d-day-ceremony-invitation-for-family-commitment.html

by **Rockarm** Sun 09 Jun 2019, 8:25 am

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‘It’s hard to think about them’: Emotions run free as Canadians mark D-Day

Jun 08, 2019

COURSEULLES-SUR-MER, France — Joseph Edwardson couldn’t hold back the tears. Exactly 75 years earlier, Edwardson and thousands of other young Canadian men had come ashore on this very beach in northern France to begin the long-awaited liberation of western Europe from Nazi Germany. Many of those men would not see the next day.

“It’s hard to think about them,” an emotional Edwardson, now 95, said as he stood in the sand near the spot where he pulled himself out of the water on D-Day. He had been forced to dive from his landing craft and swim to shore in the face of German machine-gun and artillery fire.

Edwardson was one of a handful of surviving veterans from D-Day and the battles in Normandy to return to the stretch of coastline now known as Juno Beach to mark the 75th anniversary of that moment, a turning point in the Second World War.

Joining them here were thousands of Canadians representing various ages and communities, united in honouring the bravery and sacrifice of the men like Edwardson who, as young men from places like Revelstoke and Red Deer, Smiths Falls, Trois-Rivieres and Glace Bay, had found themselves in Europe fighting against tyranny.

Two ceremonies were held on Juno Beach on Thursday, the first of which was an entirely Canadian production while the second included representatives from more than a dozen countries that played parts on D-Day.

“While it is far from perfect, every generation has since strived to build on what began more than 75 years ago,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the assembled veterans, dignitaries and observers during the international ceremony, which included France’s Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

“For Canada, it means standing alongside those who fight for justice, democracy, and equality around the world — just like our men once did here on Juno Beach. Just like our men and women in uniform serving around the world continue to do to this day.”

Fourteen thousand Canadian soldiers came ashore on D-Day. For many, it would be their first taste of combat. For some, it would also be their last. Even three-quarters of a century later, the pain of that reality continues to hurt the few veterans still alive today, particularly when they visit the beach and tour the cemeteries where their friends are buried.

“It didn’t used to be hard, because when you’re younger it didn’t affect you and you didn’t think about that,” said Art Boon, who was with the first wave of artillery to land on Juno Beach on D-Day, as he stood on the beach. “But when you get older, you think about all the years they lost (and how) they weren’t here to enjoy the freedom that they helped get.”

Unlike 75 years ago, when Canadian, British and American soldiers braved stormy waves as well as machine-gun fire as they struggled to reach land, the weather on Thursday was largely calm, almost benevolent. A cool breeze bearing a tinge of ocean scent wafted through under a cloud-studded sky as the experience of D-Day was remembered.

In many ways, the Canadian ceremony was one of contrasts to that terrible day. Music and speeches replaced the deafening sounds of gunfire, explosions and screams. Out to sea, a single Canadian frigate, HMCS St. John’s, stood a silent guard where hundreds of battleships, destroyers and landing craft had pounded the shore and carried troops to the battle.

And there were the young people, hundreds of them, many of them cadets and serving Canadian Forces members, reminders that the aged veterans sitting in the first row hadn’t always been old men.

Some of those service members stood on the sand dunes for the duration of the 90-minute Canadian ceremony with bowed heads, metres from where some of their forebears had fought and died. Many, such as Cpl. Wyatt Keenan, were awestruck by the importance of the occasion.

“It’s a pretty humbling experience knowing that 75 years ago, what the guys before us were doing here,” said Keenan, who is currently posted to Greenwood, N.S., adding that one of the emotional moments of the ceremony for him was when the French national anthem was played. “It’s because of what happened here 75 years ago that the French get to sing that anthem.”

During his address to the Canadian ceremony, Trudeau underscored the unity of purpose that brought together Canadians from coast to coast to coast on D-Day, as well as the example their actions during that bloody day — in which 359 Canadians were killed and another 715 wounded or captured — set for future generations.

“We thank them not only for their sacrifice, but for their example,” Trudeau said. “For inspiring countless young men and women to answer the call of duty like they once did. For teaching us the value of service. For showing us the true meaning of honour. We thank them for leaving us a better world than the one they once inherited.”

Philippe, France’s prime minister, said D-Day strengthened the enduring friendship between Canada and France, which continues to this day in the face of contemporary challenges such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and climate change, before concluding: “It’s hard to say anything else but ‘Thank you.’ “

For many of the veterans, this will be their last major commemoration of D-Day. Almost to a person, those interviewed spoke of the importance of future generations remembering and understanding what happened 75 years earlier. And while some spoke of the importance of fighting for ideals and principles, they also hoped a day would come when peace would endure.

“We’ve had wars since before biblical times. Even the cavemen fought against each other,” said 98-year-old William Tymchuk. “It’s human nature to fight. But eventually I think we’ll learn our lesson. I just don’t know when.”

https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2019/06/08/its-hard-to-think-about-them-emotions-run-free-as-canadians-mark-d-day-2/

by Ironman Sun 09 Jun 2019, 6:56 pm

June 9, 2019

How young we were: 75 years after Juno Beach, Canadian D-Day veterans remember the battle

WATCH: Many Canadian soldiers were teens when they stormed the beaches of Normandy. But Juno Beach made them men.

https://globalnews.ca/news/5350585/75-years-juno-beach-d-day-veterans-remember/

by Ranger Wed 12 Jun 2019, 7:54 am

Pallister plays with political fire by snubbing Canadian veterans

By: Dan Lett | Posted: 06/11/2019 7:00 PM | Comments: 57

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/pallister-plays-with-political-fire-by-snubbing-canadian-veterans-511155782.html

by Magnum Sat 15 Jun 2019, 9:16 am

'He should have been there': Manitoba WWII vet disappointed premier missed D-Day ceremony

Emily Brass · CBC News · Posted: Jun 14, 2019

Winnipeg Second World War veteran John Stoyka, 94, was in France on June 6 for a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day. He's disappointed Manitoba's premiere wasn't there too. (

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/pallister-d-day-manitoba-veteran-1.5176070

by Marshall Sat 22 Jun 2019, 4:47 pm

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D-Day veteran will raise flag at Summerland Canada Day Picnic

KARISSA GALL / Jun. 22, 2019

https://www.summerlandreview.com/news/d-day-veteran-will-raise-flag-at-summerland-canada-day-picnic/

by Jeremiah Tue 25 Jun 2019, 7:38 pm

An experience of a lifetime

Published on: June 25, 2019

https://www.goderichsignalstar.com/news/local-news/an-experience-of-a-lifetime

by Mojave Sat 29 Jun 2019, 8:25 am

Windsor veteran Stuart Johns is embodiment of a remarkable generation

GORD HENDERSON June 29, 2019

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Passing through customs in Toronto last month to board a Paris-bound flight with members of her family, retired kindergarten teacher Nancy Johns-Root was worried about how the security folks might react to the “bag of rocks” buried deep in her luggage.

https://windsorstar.com/opinion/columnists/henderson-windsor-veteran-stuart-johns-is-embodiment-of-a-remarkable-generation

by Leopard Thu 25 Jul 2019, 5:30 pm

Chatelech Secondary School teacher journeys to Europe for history lesson

Sophie Woodrooffe / Coast Reporter
JULY 25, 2019

Canada House, featured in many early images of Canadians on D-Day and generally believed to be the first house liberated by Canadians on June 6, 1944.
- JUNO BEACH CENTRE ASSOCIATION PHOTO

https://www.coastreporter.net/news/local-news/chatelech-secondary-school-teacher-journeys-to-europe-for-history-lesson-1.23896004

by Looper Fri 30 Aug 2019, 8:56 am

Uxbridge remembers veteran that passed away months after anniversary of D-Day

Katherine DeClerq, CTV News Toronto
Published Thursday, August 29, 2019

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/uxbridge-remembers-veteran-that-passed-away-months-after-anniversary-of-d-day-1.4571012

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