More than 14,000 volunteer soldiers from across Canada – fighting alongside British and US troops – seized the beaches of Normandy on D-Day to help liberate the region from German occupation. Eighty years since that fatal day in June 1944, a handful of local inhabitants have made it their mission to preserve and pass on the lesser-known stories of Canadian soldiers.
At the break of dawn on June 6, 1944, more than 14,000 Canadian soldiers landed or parachuted on Juno Beach – a 10-kilometre stretch of French coastline in Normandy. Their objective was simple, albeit deadly. Braving intense fire from German defenders, these volunteer servicemen were to take back control of the beach and move inland to liberate the city of Caen from Nazi occupation.
