Remembering Afghanistan: A Young Soldier’s...

12 Eastern Graphic - Wednesday, November 5, 2014

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By Luke Arbuckle

[email protected] A young boy from Montague

with dreams of serving his coun-try, now a Master Corporal, Nick Acorn graduated from high school in 2001 and immediately enlisted in the Canadian Forces.

For the next decade, Nick served his country in varying capacities and fought alongside his com-rades during a tour of duty in Masum Ghar, Afghanistan. For him, and countless other Canadians who served in years past and con-tinue to serve today, Remem-brance Day means more than wearing a poppy or paying respects. It means remembering.

“My 10 years in the Canadian Forces seemed to fly by now that it is behind me,” he said.

“I feel lucky I was able to travel the world and meet so many friends that I remain close with to this day. I still remember the drive from Dundas, PEI, to my basic training at CFB Gagetown only two weeks after I graduated high school. I was nervous and had no idea what to expect.”

After several years of specific training, in 2007, Nick was sent to Afghanistan as a tank crewman with the Canadian regiment, Lord Strathcona’s Horse.

He remembers it well.“I have a lot of memories from

my time in the Army. So many courses, exercises and duties I did through the years. Each had good and bad times. I remember a friend of my father who was in the same Regiment I eventually joined,” Nick said.

“When I was a kid, he told me what life in a tank was really like.”

“‘The good times are fun, but the bad times are really bad,’” is exactly how he put it. His words couldn’t have been more true. I find myself thinking of it often this time of year.”

As a boy, Nick had a deep respect for veterans of the First World War, Second World War and Korea, but he said Remembrance Day has taken on a whole new meaning now that he spends it kneeling over the graves of lost friends.

“I lost three close friends in Afghanistan,” Nick said.

Three weeks into his tour, Nick lost a friend in a firefight. He viv-idly remembers the sight of his buddy lying in the sand, only a few meters away.

“Some things you never forget,” Nick said.

“It doesn’t matter what day of the year it is.”

Like a trained soldier, Nick pressed on and the soldiers who survived grew closer together, but only days before the end of his tour, tragedy and the realities of war struck again.

“One of my closest friends was killed only days before the end of my tour and is buried not far from where I live near Edmonton.”

Every year since, on November 11, Nick stands before the tomb-stone of his best friend Private Mike Hayakaze and wonders what life might be like for him if he’d survived.

Mike’s tank struck an IED (road-side bomb) on a routine scouting mission. No one survived.

“I can’t help but think what Mike would be doing now if he was still alive, perhaps attending a ceremony at the very same ceme-tery. It’s a strange feeling,” Nick said.

“No matter how much I tell myself it’s just a fact of war, I always feel guilty that it’s Mike lay-ing there when it could have just as easily have been my tank that was hit. It’s always emotionally overwhelming.”

Thankfully, Nick has the support of loved ones. He said it helps him through the pain of the loss and guilt so he can better remember the joy of being Mike’s friend and what an honour it was to serve with him.

“My fiancé accompanies me to his graveside each year and I stand there in quiet respect for a few minutes thinking of what a hero he truly was and how lucky I am to have served with such a fine example of what a soldier should be,” he said.

“He was the definition of a war-rior. He broke his ankle but refused to go to the main camp for medi-cal attention because he wanted to be with his comrades. He was

killed days later.”Every year on November 11th,

Nick looks upon Mike’s grave and takes notice of the trinkets and mementos left by other soldiers, other friends.

“It’s easy to tell other guys from my old unit were there earlier in the day as his grave is always sur-rounded by flowers, cans of beer and full packs of cigarettes,” he said.

“It brings me some small com-fort on such a sad day because I know Mike would have liked that.”

Despite his own sadness and painful memories, every year, Nick watches others mourn beside Mike’s grave and the graves of other Canadian soldiers who lost their lives in Afghanistan.

Another soldier who I never met is buried only a few meters away from Mike,” he said.

“Every year it breaks my heart again to see his young daughter who wouldn’t be more than 10 years old and a woman in her early 30s crying at his headstone. It makes Remembrance Day feel so much more ‘real’ than it used to.”

Nick wonders if his grandfather Raymond Acorn, a Veteran of the Second World War, felt the same on November 11th as he does now.

“I often think of my grandfather parading at the Legion in Mon-tague and how he might have dealt with the loss of so many comrades on the battlefields of

Europe,” Nick said.

“Was it as hard for him to put on his uni-form as it is for me? Did his eyes water to see it like mine do? Was he as proud of his sadness as I am?”

Nick always knew war is a terrible thing, but felt com-pelled to sup-port, defend and serve his country. He

answered the call and never asked for anything in return. On Remembrance Day, whether they believe in the war efforts or not, Canadians have the opportunity to pay their respects, show sup-port and honour those who put their lives on the line when their nation needed them.

“I know a lot of us may not have supported the war against the Taliban and a lot of the soldiers who fought in Afghanistan didn’t either,” Nick said. “But the simple fact is, when their country called they laid down their lives for their families, friends and comrades.”

Nick urges all Canadians to remember not only those who fought and still fight, but anyone who serves their country.

“Remember our troops who were killed by the recent attacks in our own country and pray for the members of the Canadian Forces currently deployed in the conflict in Iraq,” he said.

“All I ask is for on this one day, please forget all the politics and wear a poppy proudly.”

Nick now lives outside Edmon-ton with his fiancé Allie Luchka. He works as a shop supervisor for a transportation company.

Nick Acorn’s Regiment, Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) C Squadron at a forward operating base In Afghanistan taking a few moments of remembrance behind the squadron bunker for Remembrance Day 2007. Submitted photo

First Troop C Squadron, Lord Strathcona’s Horse at a forward operating base in Afghanistan in early October 2007.

Corporal Nick Acorn is in the top right on the left of the turret. Submitted photo

Master Corporal Nick Acorn and comrades of Lord Strathcona’s Horse First Squadron had time for a few quick photographs between battles in Afghanistan. Submitted photo

Master Corporal Nick Acorn on a routine training mission in Texas. During his 10 years in service, he lost many friends in the Afghanistan conflict, but looks forward to honouring their service and memory every November 11th. Submitted photo

“All I ask is for on this one day, please forget all the politics and wear a poppy proudly.

Master Corporal Nick AcornAfghanistan Veteran

Master Corporal Nick Acorn with his fiancée Allie Luchka at their Edmonton home. Nick said the support of loved ones helps him through each Remembrance Day. Submitted photo

Remembering Afghanistan: A Young Soldier’s Story

First Troop C Squadron, Lord Strathcona’s Horse at a forward operating base in Afghanistan in early October 2007.

Corporal Nick Acorn is in the top right on the left of the turret. Submitted photo

November 11, 2014 We will remember them

Emotions stirred within the very core of Jan Cox, sales consultant with The West Prince Graphic, when she and her partner, Elaine Taylor recently witnessed a mag-nificent display of carefully hand-crafted ceramic poppies at the Tower of London in London, Eng-land.

Ms Cox has lived in Canada for 61 years and remains committed to the historic ties that bind both countries. She returns to her homeland to visit friends and fam-ily whenever possible.

This fall, she and Elaine saw first-hand the phenomenal ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red - Tower of London Remembers.’ This is a major art project at the Tower of London that marks 100 years since the first full day of Britain’s involvement in the First World War. Created by ceramic art-ist Paul Cummins, 888,246 ceram-ic poppies have filled the Tower’s famous moat. Each poppy repre-sents a British military fatality dur-ing the war.

Canada continues to share a strong military history with Great Britain whether it be through war brides who, with their veteran hus-bands, moved here to raise fami-lies or immigrants settling in the smallest province in this country.

“The afternoon we were there the blue sky was filled with sun-shine,” Ms Cox said. “Although we had read the description of the poppies before our visit to the Tower, words could not have pre-pared us for what we saw, truly a sea of red.”

The poppies that encircle the iconic landmark, create not only a spectacular display visible from all around the Tower, but also a location for personal reflection. The scale of the installation reflects the magnitude of such an important centenary creating a

powerful visual commemoration.“As we looked down from the

barricades at the green grass moat, the poppies were placed at differ-ent heights, creating a wave affect,” Ms Cox said. “From one of the Tower windows, it appeared pop-pies were falling from it. They cas-caded gently down to the moat and the standing poppies below. At the other end of the Tower,

across from the River Thames, another huge spray of poppies stood at the base of the mighty gate, not tumbling from a higher place, but rising up to the gate.

Ms Cox explained that each carefully handcrafted poppy, about the size of a man’s fist, is mounted on a stake and lovingly placed in the ground by hundreds of volunteers each day. The last poppy will be placed on Remem-brance Day - November 11th. Every evening hundreds of names are read out at dusk before a lone soldier plays Last Post.

“To see this entire scene left us speechless and in awe of the cre-ation,” Ms Cox said. “Later, as we rested briefly on a bench outside of the crowds, my mum and her two sisters began to sing the words of a song my granddad sang to all of his kids, “Whizz Bang Lane.”

“My granddad fought in the First World War. Although he didn’t speak about the experience much, he did love to sing this song that kept him and his mates going in

the trenches. One of my aunts has

researched the song. It was written by Sergeant Bruce Le Roy and copyrighted in 1917. Sergeant Le Roy actually composed the song in the front line trenches as the shells were “putting across” or whizzing overhead. All these years later, the three sisters still remem-bered the four verses and the chorus.”

All of the poppies have been sold and raised millions of pounds ($1 Canadian is equivalent to about a half pound) which will be shared equally among six service charities.

“Perhaps other memories were evoked as people gazed down to the mass of bright red. For the many young people that stood in respectful silence just watching that day, I hope it’s a memory just created,” Ms Cox said. “Several of my uncles and my mother are Second World War veterans, as were my dad and Elaine’s parents. Their stories live on in our hearts. There is something about the poppy and the military.

“We are grateful and we will remember.”

Creating the poppies was a 23 hour per day job. Each one is dif-ferent since they were crafted by individuals who worked in shifts as the public placed orders for the ceramic works of art. In all, the poppies cover 16 acres of proper-ty around the Tower of London. To see more details on the project go to poppies.hrp.org.uk/buy-a-pop-py

Eastern Graphic - Wednesday, November 5, 2014 13

WE SALUTE OUR VETERANSWE SALUTE OUR VETERANSWE SALUTE OUR VETERANS

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We honour their memory as well as thank the many who have served, and continue to serve, in the various branches of our Armed Forces.

, P.C., M.P.Member of Parliament

for Cardiganhttp://lawrencemacaulay.liberal.ca

13

Poppies at the gate of the Tower of London. Jan Cox photo

Islander moved by sea of ceramic red poppies commemorating veterans at Tower of London

Looking out across the Tower of London moat to the River Thames. Jan Cox photo

Poppies tumbling from a Tower of London window. Jan Cox photo

FORTHEM FORNOW FOREVERWE REMEMBER

Remembrance Day2014

By Erin McCabe

[email protected]

Those Splendid Girls, a book by Charlottetown author Katherine Dewar showcases the lives of 115 Prince Edward Island nurses who participated in the First World War from 1914 to 1918.

Among those, was Souris native Rena Maude McLean.

Ms McLean was the only Islander to travel to Europe with the first contingent of Canadian nurses. She died at the hands of the enemy on June 27, 1918.

According to author and researcher Ms Dewar, before the war, Ms McLean was a head nurse at a Massachusetts hospi-tal. She was 34 years old. When war was declared, nurses from across the country, including those who were working in the United States like Ms McLean, vol-unteered their services to their country.

“Within the first three weeks after war was declared, 1,100 Canadian nurses tried to enlist in the Canadian Army Medical Corps,” she said. “They were only taking 100 nurses at that time.”

Ms Dewar said about 47 Island nurses made it into the Canadian Army Medical Corps. There were about 60 Islanders who served in the American Army, Navy or Air-force.

“Some went over with the Red Cross or YMCA or private units,”

she said. “So there were many ways to serve.”

Ms McLean was one of the 47 nurses who made it into the Cana-dian Medical Corps and she, along with 34 other Canadian nurses, were sent overseas in 1914 to Le Touquet, France to open up the first all-Canadian hospital, Num-ber 2 Canadian Stationary Hospi-tal.

“These nurses were the first Canadians in France,” Ms Dewar said. “They were there a good month before any Canadian troops arrived.”

While Canadian troops served in England, France and Belgium during the First World War, the Canadian Nursing Sisters served in England, France, Belgium, Salonica, Malta, Egypt, Russia, Poland and Germany.

“It was only the nurses who served in all those places,” Ms Dewar said.

Ms McLean served in France until she was granted a furlough in 1916 and came back to PEI for two weeks. Then she was sent back to England, and in the fall of 1916 she was transferred to Saloni-ca, which is the capital of Macedo-nia and is now the second largest

city in Greece.“She was sent there as a rein-

forcement because so many of the nurses were sick. That was the very worst place in the whole war, because of the conditions there.” Ms Dewar said. “Rena was one of few nurses not to get sick.”

Ms McLean stayed in Salonica until 1917 when all Canadians stationed there were recalled to England when the foul conditions were leaked to a politician in Ottawa.

She then was stationed on a Canadian hospital transport ship, the Llandovery Castle, which trav-elled from Liverpool to Halifax, carrying wounded soldiers back to Canada.

“Any patients that needed more than three months in England to recover, they were evacuated,” she said. “They were usually patients who would never get back to bat-tle.”

On Ms McLean’s fifth trip over, her father wanted her to get another furlough home to PEI and she told him she’d try.

She didn’t get the furlough, according to Ms Dewar, so her mother and father travelled to

Halifax to see her.

Ms McLean was going to request to go back to France when she arrived in Eng-land, but off the coast of Ireland the Llandovery Castle was tor-pedoed by a German subma-rine.

“They very quickly realized the ship was going to sink,” Ms Dewar said. “It was a direct hit in the engine room.”

They had to abandon ship and try to escape in life-boats. Because the sea was so rough, Ms Dewar said, the lifeboats kept banging into the side of the sinking ship. All of the 14 nurses,

including Ms McLean, were put into Lifeboat No 5 and while being lowered into the water, they used their oars to stop from bang-ing into the ship, causing the oars to break.

“They finally got away, and because they had no oars they were drifting toward the stern of the ship,” she said. “The nurses were very quiet, still and calm. The matron, Nurse Margaret Fraser of

Nova Scotia, asked the sergeant in charge if there was any hope for them, and he said no.”

The poop deck of the ship then broke off into the water and the nurses were thrown into the water, sucked under and they all drowned.

The sergeant was in the same lifeboat as the nurses but he sur-vived by managing to hold onto something.

“It’s a very sad story from so many angles,” Ms Dewar said. “One, because she was trying to get a furlough home and that’s why she got transferred to transport; she really wanted to be in France. And then for this to happen.”

She said Rena McLean is an important part of Island and Canadian military nursing history. As well as being the first Island nurse to go over to Europe, she was also the first decorated Island-er in the First World War.

She was awarded the Mons Star, a medal given to only 240 Canadi-ans, 55 of whom were nurses. The medal was given to those who were in France before November 22, 1914.

She was also given the Associ-ate Royal Red Cross, Second Class, which was only given to three or four per cent of nurses in the First World War.

“It was usually given in Bucking-ham Palace by the king,” Ms Dewar said. “Afterward they went to Marl-borough House and the Queen Mother did a little presentation to them as well. It was really quite significant to get this. It wasn’t just handed out to anybody.”

Closer to home, a plaque hon-ours Ms McLean in the Radiology wing in the Queen Elizabeth Hos-pital. A plaque was also displayed in St James United Church in Souris until its closure.

The gardens at Government House in Charlottetown are called Rena McLean Veterans Garden. The garden was planted on the site of the old hospital which was named the Rena McLean Memo-rial Hospital, in tribute to this nurse who is such a significant part of Island history.


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Nursing Sister Rena Maude McLean was a significant part of Prince Edward Island military nursing history. She was the first Island nurse, and among the first Canadian nurses to be sent over to Europe at the start of the First World War. She was the first Island nurse to be decorated in the First World War and she was the only Island nurse to have died at the hands of the enemy. This photo shows her in her nursing uniform. Submitted photo

Souris native Rena Maude McLean’s war e� orts recounted in historical publication


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Montague High students to salute

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The drama class and choir at Montague Regional High School will be offering a Remembrance Day service this Wednesday, November 5.

The service will include music and poetry provided by the stu-dents, and members of the drama class will also share their talents as well.

Everyone is welcome to attend the event and admission is free, although donations will be accepted at the door.

The service begins at 7pm at the school.

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THANK YOU VETERANSBecause of your courage

and dedication we live in a free Canada.

Communities honour veterans with November 11 services

Montague Royal Canadi-an Legion Branch No 8Sterling Conrad with the Mon-

tague Legion said everyone is welcome to the Remembrance Day service on November 11 at the Montague Legion.

The event will begin with the parade at 10:45am to the ceno-taph at the Legion. Preparation for the parade will begin at 10:30am.

Last Post will be played at 10:58am, Mr Conrad said, and two minutes of silence will take place at 11am.

The service will then contin-ue with the reading out of an Act of Remembrance by Rever-end Lonnie Atkinson, along with other readings as well.

Mr Conrad said the laying of the wreaths and poppies will close the service.

Souris Royal Canadian Legion Branch No 3

In Souris, Legion president David Perry said the town’s Remembrance Day commemo-ration will begin with a 9am church service at St Mary’s Par-ish.

Around 10:30am preparation will get underway for the cere-mony at the Legion at 11am.

Reverend Jim Willick will lead the service inside the Legion hall which will include two min-utes of silence at 11 o’clock.

“In the evening we also have a banquet and a dance at the Legion,” Mr Perry said. “The ban-quet begins at 6pm and the dance, around 8pm.”

The banquet will feature a hot roast beef meal and an awards presentation for Legion mem-bers for their dedication and their service to the region. The dance will be for those age 19 and over.

A guest speaker will also make a presentation to the attendees.

Tommy Joe McDonald will speak about the Legion’s Pil-grimage of Remembrance in 2013, which he was a part of. As well some stories will be shared about veterans of the World Wars from the Souris area.

Murray River

Community HallThe Remembrance Day ser-

vice in Murray River will be held in the Murray River Community Hall at 1pm on November 11.

Brent Campbell helps orga-nize the service and he said

every year, it is well attended.“The reason we hold it inside

is out of respect for the elderly who may not be comfortable in the outdoor conditions.”

Members of the RCMP and the Murray River Fire Depart-ment will stand guard, Mr Camp-bell said.

As well member of the 327 Southern Kings Air Cadet Squad-ron will participate in the ser-vice.

The wreaths will be laid on the stage inside of the hall, and after the service, they are taken to the a memorial on Main Street. Some wreaths may also be taken to the local cemetery, he added, to lay on the respec-tive graves of the veterans.

Although Murray River does not have its service at 11am, Mr Campbell said someone will be at the hall to lower the flag to half mast at 11am.

Everyone is welcome to attend.

King’s Playhouse in Georgetown

The public is invited to remember the fallen, returning veterans and all those who served their country at an 11am service at King’s Playhouse on November 11. The service will begin with two minutes of silence.

“It’s one of the bigger servic-es,” Faye McQuillan, one of the organizers, said. “Usually about 300 people attend.”

Mike Gallant will be the emcee and there will be a cou-ple of guest speakers, Ms McQuil-lan said, including Mayor Lewis Lavandier.

The wreaths will be laid on the stage as well as below, and once the service has concluded, they will be moved outside to the cenotaph.

Duncan Crawford, from the Charlottetown area, has been the piper for the Georgetown Remembrance Day service for about 10 years and will return again this year.

Lunch will be served follow-ing the ceremony.

Village of Cardigan The Cardigan Remembrance

Day service will be held at the village’s cenotaph beginning shortly before 11am.

“There will also be mass at the Church of All Saints before the service, which is open to every-one,” Grace Blackette, Legion

president, said.she said Legion member

Michael Rice will emcee the service, while other members will participate by doing select-ed readings and singing the National Anthem.

Sarah Thompson will be the bugler for both Last Post and Reveille, and Reverend Stephen Thompson will give the opening prayer.

“We’re also hoping to have an RCMP officer present as well,” Ms Blackette said.

There will be the laying of the wreaths, and a donation box will be placed by the cenotaph for anyone who would like to contribute to the upkeep of the grounds and the veterans’ mon-ument.

Following the service, there will be a luncheon offered by the St Andrew’s Presbyterian Ladies Guild to members of the public. The cost is $5 and some of the proceeds will go to the cenotaph fund.

Also, a reception for veterans and their families will take place following the ceremony in the basement of the All Saints Church.

Murray HarbourThe Remembrance Day ser-

vice for residents of the Murray Harbour area will take place at the Murray Harbour Community Centre, beginning at 3pm.

The emcee for the service will be Pastor Scott Herring. Rever-end David Colvin, from the Memorial United Church, will give the message of remem-brance.

Christie Beck’s choir will also provide music.

Following the service, which is open to the public, everyone will head out to the newly relo-cated cenotaph to place their wreaths and poppies.

The cenotaph was moved from the Presbyterian Church after the building was sold. The cenotaph is now at the commu-nity centre.

“It’s really nice to have the cenotaph moved,” Village chair Faye Fraser said. “I honestly don’t think it makes any difference where it is, people will show up.”

A reception at the community centre will follow the ceremony.

Please check the community where you live for other services on Remembrance Day.

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One day of remembrance for a lifetime of freedom

By Luke Arbuckle

[email protected]

Last June, 19-year-old Montague resident Peter Vanden Broek was selected to repre-sent the Canadian Reserve Forces sta-tioned on PEI at the 70th Anniversary of D-Day and the landing of Canadian troop on Juno Beach.

Like many young men, Mr Vanden Broek grew up hearing sto-ries of the courageous soldiers who stormed the beaches of Nor-mandy on D-Day. Mr Vanden Broek’s grand-mother is an immi-grant from Holland and told tales of their bravery and sacrifice.

Her stories helped instill a sense of

national pride in Mr Vanden Broek and by the time he graduated from high school, he’d already c o m p l e t e d basic training and obtained the rank of Cor-poral.

Corporal Van-den Broek said his trip to Nor-mandy was an e x p e r i e n c e he’ll never for-get.

At 7:49am on June 6, 1944, D-Day, the 7th and 8th Cana-dian Brigades began to land on Juno Beach in Normandy. The coastline had been forti-fied by the occupying Ger-mans and bris-tled with guns, c o n c r e t e emplacements, pillboxes, fields of barbed wire and land mines.

Seventy-years later, to the day, Cpl Vanden Broek marched along what remains of the for t i f icat ions and spoke to some of the men who fought to take them so many years ago.

“One man I spoke with on the beach said he was 19 when he fought here. That’s the same age I am and it had a real impact on me. Same age, same day, only 70 years later,” Cpl Vanden Broek

said.As the veter-

an soldier walked along the beach, he told Cpl Vanden Broek about the blood in the water.

“You’ve seen movies with blood foaming on the waves, well that’s not Hollywood,” the old soldier said. “That’s how it was.”

Cpl Vanden Broek said he left Normandy with a greater appreciation for the realities of war and the courage it takes to overcome them.

“It was the greatest honour I’ve ever had.”

While in Nor-mandy, Cpl Van-den Broek took a series of pho-tographs.

“I want to share what I saw,” he said. “It’s important to remember what they did and the courage it took to do what they were asked to do.”


16

forever gratefulThe family and staff of

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Thank you for protecting our citizens and our country.

Pride - Dedication - HonourThese are the ideals displayed by the men and women of our armed forces through the generations. It is with great appreciation that we salute them today.

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D-DAY, 70 YEARS LATERLocal Reserve takes part in

D-Day commemoration in NormandyCorporal Vanden Broek said one of the most emo-tional moments he experienced while in Norman-dy was coming across the grave of a soldier from his hometown of Montague. The tombstone is that of 23-year-old Captain Dan-iel John Nichol-son, age 23. He was killed in action at Tilly-La-Campagne on July 25, 1944.

While on a tour of Juno Beach last June, Corporal Peter Vanden Broek, from Montague, noticed two crosses, placed in remembrance of D-Day, protruding from the sand.

Corporal Peter Vanden Broek stands guard as part of the Juno Beach 70th Anniversary com-memoration on June 6. He is the third man from the left and said it’s an experience he’ll never forget.

A monument to the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, who many Islanders served with. The inscription reads “On June 7th, 1944, in this town and the surrounding, the North Nova Scotia Highlanders experienced their baptism of fire. Eighty-four North Novies, and seven citizens of Authie, lost their lives that day.”

We salute those who served and those who presently serve, for their courage and dedication to a strong and free Canada.

Thank you for protecting our citizens and our country.

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As Canadians, we remember those who

made the supreme sacrifice during the war.

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tOne of the German bunkers built to defend Juno Beach from thousands of Allied soldiers on D-Day. Slowly sinking into the sand, what remains of the bunker still serves as a reminder of the battles fought and lives lost in the effort to take the beach from German control.

Near Juno Beach, this building was one of the only structures remaining after Allied arial attacks near the beach. Allied air support used the building as a marker the night before D-Day in the hopes of diminishing German troop numbers. Only 200 metres east of a German strong point, the assault Battalion of the Queens Own Rifles of Canada came ashore that morning and 143 soldiers were killed, wound-ed or captured, the greatest number of casualties among the Canadian regiments.

Restored, and now known as Canada House, the building acts as a monument to the Cana-dian Soldiers who fought so hard to secure their objective and lead the campaign against Ger-many on European soil.

Corporal Vanden Broek stands in front of Abbaye Ardenne in the vil-lage of Authie. On D-Day, Canadian soldiers engaged the 12th SS Panzer Division, whose soldiers were determined to take back the town. Fighting was heavy but the fanatical Hitlerju-gend prevailed and many Canadi-ans surrendered. That night, Ger-man Colonel Kurt Meyer ordered his men to shoot 23 Canadians, many with their hands tied behind their backs.

A monument to the North Nova Scotia Highland-ers, who many Islanders served with. The inscrip-tion reads “On June 7th, 1944, in this town and the surrounding, the North Nova Scotia H i g h l a n d e r s experienced their baptism of fire. Eighty-four North Novies, and seven citizens of Authie, lost their lives that day.”

Tank tracks can still be seen in the curbs of towns near the beaches of Normandy. The curbs were chipped away by the heavy metal treads of German and Allied heavy artillery.

The soldier stood and faced God,Which must always come to passHe hoped his shoes were shining,Just as brightly as his brass.

Step forward now, you soldier,How shall I deal with you?Have you always turned the other cheek?To my church have you been true?

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,No, Lord, I guess I ain’t.Because those of us who carry guns,Can’t always be a saint.

I’ve had to work most Sundays,And at times my talk was tough.And sometimes I’ve been violent,Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,That wasn’t mine to keep ...Though I worked a lot of over-time,When the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,Though at times I shook with fear.And sometimes, God, forgive me,I’ve wept unmanly tears.

I know I don’t deserve a place,Among the people here.They never wanted me around,Except to calm their fears.

If you’ve a place for me here, Lord,It needn’t be so grand.I never expected or had too much,But if you don’t, I’ll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,Where the saints had often trodAs the soldier waited quietly,For the judgment of his God.

Step forward now, you soldier,You’ve borne your burdens well.Walk peacefully on Heaven’s streets,You’ve done your time in Hell.

Author unknown

D - D A Y , 7 0 Y E A R S L A T E R

It’s the military, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press.

It’s the military, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech. It’s the military, not the politicians who ensure our right to life, liberty

and the pursuit of happiness. It’s the military who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and

whose coffin is draped by the flag.

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