Thousands of Canadian troops gave their lives during the invasion and conquest of Normandy 75 years ago. (Canada. Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-132898.)

By Brady Bateman

remembering the beginning of the end

Prince Albert vets remember D-Day 75 years later

Jun 5, 2019 | 5:14 PM

It was on June 6, 1944, when Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy in France to open the way to Germany. More than 150,000 Allied soldiers stormed the beaches, beginning the push into mainland Europe and signalling the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany.

Victory in the days that followed, which lead to the success of the Normandy campaign, came at a horrific price. Although the D-Day invasion force was primarily American and British, thousands of Canadians participated, most notably at Juno Beach. Canadian troops suffered the most casualties out of any division in the entirety of the British Army Group.

June 6, 2019, marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy.

The Prince Albert Anavets chapter will be placing Canadian flags on all the graves of every Canadian veteran in the Prince Albert area, in coordination with the Prince Albert Legion on Saturday, June 8 to commemorate the occasion.

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“I would say there are probably 1,000 or more graves that we will be putting flags on throughout the day,” Anavets member Bob Mooney told paNOW.

“The fact that we have the freedom to be talking right now, is why events like this are so important. The men who died in these wars gave us our freedom. We wouldn’t be living the lives we are today without their sacrifices and I think a lot of our younger people have a tendency to forget them,” Mooney said.

He hopes to see a high attendance from community members for the occasion adding adding numbers have declined in recent years.

“This is an ongoing thing and always will be. We wouldn’t have our freedom without those boys that gave their lives,” he said.

Ed Laird grew up north of Christopher Lake, but has lived in Prince Albert since he joined the Army at 18.

It didn’t come for free, there was a terrible cost of lives. _{– Edwin Laird}

Laird was 21 when he found himself in Italy when D-Day took place. He recalled the days that followed, and his learning of the events.

Ed Laird on Remembrance Day 2018. He has lived in Prince Albert since returning from the military. (Submitted /Geri Sauer)

“I remember very clearly when an officer told us, we were sitting in a trench in Italy. It was a full day and a half later that we even got the news and they told us Canadians had invaded France,” Laird said.

“We were excited, I remember that, but at that point it was already kind of old news.”

Laird served in the First Division, fighting with the British Eighth Army. He was near Rome when he heard of the events that transpired on D-Day.

“It was such a horrendous event that war. D-Day was the start of the end of it. It would have been a different story today in the world if it hadn’t been for that,” Laird said.

“A lot of people nowadays don’t even know what happened, they think we’ve always lived like this, they think this came naturally. It didn’t come for free; there was a terrible cost of lives.”

Laird added the First Division lost one out of every three soldiers during the conflict in Italy.

Edwin Laird (second left) with some of his First Division army mates. (submitted photo/Geri Sauer)

“I hope I’ll be taking part in something this year, but I’ll have to wait for someone to ask me to or tell me to, no one has approached me yet,” Laird said. “These are great things to remember, they let us know what happened, otherwise people think they came for free and they sure didn’t.”

The Prince Albert Legion will not be hosting any events, but will take part In the Decoration Day events in partnership with the P.A. Anavets chapter.

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Brady.bateman@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TheDigitalBirdy