Participants dressed as a member of the Regiment de la Chaudiere du Canada salute to honour the memory of the Canadian soldiers who stormed the beach on D-Day.Kiran Ridley/The Globe and Mail
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Cameron Lovell says he couldn’t help but weep when he arrived at Juno Beach, where 80 years ago his great grandfather landed in cold water and advanced into the fury of battle.
Leonard James Richardson was one of the more than 14,000 Canadian soldiers who landed on the beaches of Normandy. For Mr. Lovell, a Grade 12 student from Owen Sound, Ontario, the moment was surreal, he said – it was where his family line could have ended. For 359 Canadians on June 6, 1944, it did.
“My whole family history could have changed in a single moment,” said Mr. Lovell, now a member of the cadet corps of the Grey and Simcoe Foresters. “He survived and he had a family. But there are so many others that were cut short.”
Mr. Lovell is among the thousands of Canadian, French and international spectators gathered near the beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer, code-named Juno, Thursday morning, to commemorate those who fought, pay tribute to the 5,000 Canadians who died in the Battle of Normandy.
“The democracy which is our way of life did not happen by accident,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the assembled veterans, dignitaries and observers. He said democracy continues to be threatened by ‘aggressors who want to redraw borders,’ demagoguery, misinformation and foreign interference.
“We must all continue to stand for democracy day in, day out. We owe it to future generations. We owe it to the great women and men in uniform who sacrifice so much.”
The ceremony was also an opportunity to thank those few veterans who survive, now in their late nineties or aged over 100. Mr. Trudeau told the crowd that Able Seaman Bill Cameron, one veteran who had planned to be in attendance at the ceremony, passed away just days prior.
“His bags had been packed for weeks. He was so proud to be coming to Normandy. So for him, and all veterans, I can promise that Canada and the world will keep commemorating this significant day for decades and generations to come.”
Eighty years ago to the day, Bill Wilson peered through the crashing waves, barrage balloons and smoke at the shores of Normandy as the battle crashed around him. Then just 19 years old and a seaman gunner on the HMCS Ottawa, Mr. Wilson’s ship was taking the offensive in the English channel as 14,000 Canadian soldiers stepped onto the shores.
At Juno Beach Thursday morning, Mr. Wilson, now 100 years old, looks at the sky – clear, blue, and quiet. “It didn’t look like that,” he says, squinting into the sun. “The sun is out. The water is flat.”
On that day so long ago, he says he recalls sitting on the deck of his ship, “seeing all those landing crafts going in to land on the beach, knowing damn well that the Germans were waiting for us when we came.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is praising the sacrifice of veterans at a Canadian ceremony to commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Courseulles-sur-Mer, France. Speaking at Juno Beach alongside his French counterpart Gabriel Attal and Prince William, Trudeau says Canadians will never forget the bravery of Canadian soldiers. (June 6, 2024)
The Canadian Press
As one of the few surviving veterans from D-Day present at the Canadian memorial cemetery at Juno Beach, he said he is reflecting on those that were lost that day, and in the months that followed. “They were robbed of their lives,” Mr. Wilson said. He paused. “But, we volunteered.”
Mr. Wilson enlisted the day he turned 18, in 1942, but would have joined earlier had his parents let him, he said. Mr. Wilson retired from the navy as a decorated veteran and Honourary Captain in 2014, at the age of 90.
It’s service members like Mr. Wilson being recognized on Thursday.
At the British ceremony at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer Thursday morning, King Charles spoke of the gratitude owed to those who served.
“How fortunate we were, and the entire free World, that a generation of men and women in the United Kingdom and other Allied nations did not flinch when the moment came to face that test,” King Charles said.
“They carried out their duty with humility, sense of resolve and determination – qualities so characteristic of that remarkable generation.”
King Charles expressed his "profound sense of gratitude" to veterans who fought during the Normandy landings by Allied forces during a ceremony to commemorate 80 years since the historic operation (June 6).
Reuters
Also in attendance at the Canadian cemetery was the Prince of Wales.
“I want to thank our veterans for their extraordinary acts of bravery and sacrifice. All of you demonstrated heroism and determination to ensure fascism was conquered. The commitment to service displayed by Canadian troops is a great testament to the strength of the people of Canada,” Prince William said.
Prinal Shah, 16, travelled to the ceremony with 30 of her classmates from Huron Park Secondary School in Woodstock, Ontario. She said she felt moved by the crowds, and to witness the places that until then, she could only imagine.
“We learn about this and see it in our textbooks, but seeing the beach and all the graves humanizes what happened,” Ms. Shah said. “I feel so grateful for the chance to be here and honour why our lives are the way they are now.”
King Charles will not be attending the international commemoration later in the day. He will be represented by Prince William.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attended the British memorial but was not attending the afternoon ceremony.
At the American ceremony in Colleville-sur-Mer, U.S. President Joe Biden drew connections between the Second World War the war in Ukraine, calling the struggle between dictatorship and freedom “unending” and the forces of aggression and greed “perennial.”
He said that the U.S. and NATO would continue to “stand strong” with Ukraine efforts lest the war spread beyond its borders.
“We will not walk away. Because if we do, Ukraine will be subjugated, and it will not end there. Ukraine’s neighbours will be threatened. All of Europe will be threatened,” Mr. Biden said. “And make no mistake, the autocrats of the world are watching closely. To surrender to bullies, to bow down to dictators, is simply unthinkable.”
To stop supporting Ukraine now would be to forget what happened 80 years ago on the D-Day beaches, he said.
“History tells us that freedom is not free. If you want to know the price of freedom, come to Normandy and look.”
In the crowd at Juno Beach, standing proudly in his cadet uniform with red sash and black beret, Mr. Lovell looked out at the waves, teal against a pale blue sky. He was thinking of his grandfather, he said.
“We’re seeing where many made the ultimate sacrifice. Even to take part in a fraction of what he was doing here, to come here and realize the liberty he gave us, is an honour.”