On June 6, 1944, Allied forces turned the tide of the Second World War, cracking a hole in Nazi Germany’s Fortress Europe by storming the beaches of Normandy and moving into occupied France. More than 150,000 soldiers, 14,000 of them Canadian, with massive air and navy support charged on to sandy beaches in the face of intense armed German resistance. The costly victory would turn the war, and forever change the veterans of D-Day.
‘The Great Landing’
“The great landing in Western Europe is the opening of what we hope and believe will be the decisive phase in the war against Germany. The fighting is certain to be heavy, bitter and costly. We must not expect early results. We should be prepared for local reverses as well as successes. No one can say how long this phase of the war will last. But we have every reason for confidence in the final outcome.” - Canadian prime minister W.L. Mackenzie King in a radio address on June 6, 1944.
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Updates:
6:02 am EDT, June 6th, 2009 — Canadian Navy D-Day monument unveiled
6:04 am EDT, June 6th, 2009 — Veterans take emotional look at beaches of Normandy
6:06 am EDT, June 6th, 2009 — Harper lays wreath at grave of unknown soldier
6:08 am EDT, June 6th, 2009 — Horrors of war vivid for D-Day heroes
6:09 am EDT, June 6th, 2009 — Parachute drop at Pegasus Bridge marks start of D-Day commemorations
8:22 pm EDT, June 6th, 2009 — Harper pays tribute to ‘the greatest generation’
Notes:
Canada produced a great generation and they fought for our values but I dispute that they were the “greatest generation”. We have had many great generations starting with the war of 1812. It continued through the Boar War, WW1 and WW2. Korea. Now Afghanistan.
None should be forgotten and the thing that binds them all was their values, which have not changed “unto the present day”.
I remember them all.
We all owe a huge thank you to all those who took part in the landing.
We must never forget.
Indeed… Lest We Forget…
Strange that this isnt getting much coverage in the U.S.
UV, Fox gave full coverage to the whole Day. Also had footage from long ago. And in almost every report on it, PMSH was mentioned and his speech.
CNN covered O’s speech.
We are very luck that Brown and Paul Martin were not around 65 yrs ago, wrong country, and wrong beach.
And also the wrong day, didn’t Martin show up a day late.
My father was in the RAF during WWII…no 6 month deployments, everyone was in it for the duration. And he was terribly wounded after his bomber crashed. He is gone now, but I recognize the huge contribution that every one of our soldiers, sailors and airmen gave.
May God bless them all…
You’re father, my father, many fathers Bruce. As you say…”May God bless them all.”