Fourteen-thousand Canadian soldiers were among those who took part in the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. (Canada. Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada/PA-132898.)

By Rob Mahon

D-Day Anniversary

Legion plans small ceremony for D-Day anniversary

Jun 6, 2022 | 5:00 PM

On June 6, 1944, the largest amphibious assault in history began as over 150,000 allied troops landed on five beaches along the coast of Nazi-occupied France. The invasion of fortress Europe and the eventual end of the Second World War had begun.

Canadians were heavily involved in the day, which would prove to be one of the most important moments of the 20^th century. Of the 150,000 Allied troops that took part in D-Day, 14,000 were Canadian soldiers with Canada handling the landings at Juno Beach; 1074 would become casualties, with 359 killed.

Today, 78 years later, the Prince Albert Legion is remembering those who fought and gave their lives on the beaches of Normandy to start the liberation of Europe, much of which had been under Nazi occupation since 1940.

“For me personally, we recognize our fellow servicemen, whether they have passed or are still here,” said Marie Mathers, who described herself as a jack-of-all-trades for the Legion in Prince Albert.

Mathers was in the service herself, and her late husband served as well, so remembering D-Day is very much engrained in her. The trick now is to impart that remembrance to others.

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“What is difficult is to get our younger people to understand,” Mathers said.

The Legion has plans to commemorate the day next weekend. According to Mathers, some people wanted to move the celebrations to earlier but she and other Legion members felt strongly that it should be celebrated on the anniversary or after.

“It’s going to be short,” said Mathers. “I have asked the bishop to meet us at the Cenotaph on the hill at South Hill Cemetery. It’s going to be a short thing. With COVID, we have lost a lot of ground. It’s very difficult to get people to get together.”

COVID has posed numerous problems for the legion, as it has for so many other organizations. Getting people to return to gatherings could be a long process, but it’s worth it if it means remembering one of the most important moments in Canadian and indeed world history.

“It’s something that we have to keep plugging at it,” said Mathers. “We cannot let go because we have freedom because of our men and women that fought. To me, it’s just as importance as Remembrance Day.”

Less than a year after the landings on D-Day, Germany surrendered to the Allied powers on May 8 of 1945.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP