As I awoke Monday morning, one of my first thoughts was to walk to my front doorstep and pick up my copy of the Red Deer Advocate.
I would then settle in for a read that I expected to have much of the normal news items; local sports, international news, check out a few of the local autos and houses for sale ... you know, the typical daily news. There would also be a page or two of a special nature.
June 6, 1944: The D-Day invasion.
It involved over 5,000 Allied ships carrying men and vehicles from all countries around the world across the English Channel, and approximately 800 planes dropping over 13,000 men in parachutes. A further mass of Allied airplanes planes dropped ordinance on Axis troops defending the beaches of Normandy.
Over 100,000 Allied troops made it to shore. Canadians played a major role in each of these operations on that “day of days” (two of these servicemen being my uncles) and a very high number of them being casualties.
D-Day is such an important day in not only history, but more specifically Canadian military history.
Shouldn’t we acknowledge the sacrifices of these men and women on this anniversary? Service personnel who fought in between the wars and who kept the peace, as well as the ones who are fighting presently, are a special breed and we must always ensure they are appreciated and never forgotten. There are many anniversaries and many important battles, and all should be remembered. I think we all can agree that this was one anniversary that should have been mentioned.
As I leafed through the newspaper Monday morning, to say that I was very disappointed to find not a single mention of the 67th anniversary of D-Day and all that battle entailed would be an understatement. It makes me wonder how our veterans felt.
Allan Cameron
Sylvan Lake