Teenagers from Red Deer’s Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School are learning about Canadian war history first-hand this month by touring First and Second World War cemeteries in France, Belgium and Holland.
The school exchange trip took them to Juno Beach, the site of one of five Allied landings — where this photo was taken.
Invading Juno Beach in German-occupied France was the responsibility of the Canadian Army, with sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval bombardment force.
Some 14,000 Canadian troops landed at Juno Beach on June 6, 1944. Among their objectives were to establish a beachhead, capture three small seas-side towns, advance 10 miles inland and cut-off the Caen-Bayeux highway and seize the airport, forming a link between two British beachheads.
The Canadians progressed further inland than any of the Allies on D-Day. During the first six days of the campaign, there were 1,017 Canadian casualties, including 359 killed.
The Allied D-Day victory became the turning point in the Second World War — as well as a pivotal moment for Canada.