A Canada Day to Remember

It’s a strange thing to watch another country celebrate your nation; it stirs something in you.

We find ourselves in the lush northern countryside of Normandy, France, on July 1st; it’s Canada’s 145th birthday. Our ruby Maple Leaf flies high all around us as a live band plays our national anthem.

Juno Beach was Canada’s breach point into Nazi-occupied France as part of the Allied invasion that heralded the turning point of the Second World War. The charming French town of Courseulles-sur-Mer, Normandy, hosts the inspiring Juno Beach Centre museum devoted to Canadian soldiers.

Canadian flags fly throughout the town making each of us smile. In this part of the world, gratitude lingers for the sacrifice Canadian soldiers made when they stormed Juno Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, in the opening salvo that would begin the liberation of Europe.

“If I had Canadian soldiers, American technology, and British officers I could rule the world.” – Winston Churchill

Crowds are everywhere and people buying Canadian souvenirs in France stirs a grin, not to mention the folks trying ball hockey on the grass. But nothing comes close to walking to the water, past the concrete machine gun bunkers buried along the coast, then standing silently on these shores. Trying to grasp the magnitude of what our soldiers faced is overwhelming and emotional.

I am no proponent of war, but somehow, at this place, at that time, it mattered; it really mattered. This wasn’t a war for resources; it was a war to save wonderful countries from tyranny. The locals here have never forgotten and this is a history lesson our children will always remember.

Ever the happy Canadians, new pride suffuses our children’s faces today. It is with swelled hearts that we scribe our pride into the sands of Juno Beach. Happy Canada Day to our beloved country.