Save Juno Beach

Juno Beach, June 6, 2017

On an early morning in June a few years back, my husband and I got up to catch a train from Paris to Caen, a town in the Normandy region of northern France. From there, we were to meet up with a tour bus that would take us to Juno Beach, one of the beaches invaded by allied forces on D-Day.

My father, a history buff who served in the RCAF during World War II, had mentioned D-Day many times to me when I was younger. But it took this visit to make the events of that day very real for me.

The Allied invasion of the north coast of France in 1944 included Juno, Utah, Omaha, Gold and Sword beaches, involving U.S., British and Canadian forces.

It just so happened that our little tour bus rolled into Juno Beach on the anniversary of D-Day, June 6th. The weather on our tour was apparently similar to the weather leading up to the invasion, with a lot of wind and rain showers.

The beach itself is huge, and the area includes several bunkers, tanks and monuments, along with the Juno Beach Centre, which is a museum and memorial. Along the beach you’ll also see Canada House, which was the first house to be liberated by allied troops on that day.

We stood at the bunkers imagining the terror and the pain that these young men must have endured, and we walked along the beach where so many of them lost their lives. We choked up as we stood and sang Oh Canada inside the Juno Beach Centre during a ceremony to mark the anniversary.

As the rain and wind kicked up on our walk past Canada House, we were invited inside. This was a rare experience, we were told. Tourists aren’t usually allowed inside, but they felt sorry for us because of the inclement weather.

The moment that really stood out for me, however, happened when we were returning to our tour bus at the end of the day. An older man who lived nearby walked up to us and asked us if we were Canadian. When we told him we were, indeed, he thanked us and our country for our part in D-Day.

And as we drove through the streets of Courseulles-sur-Mer up behind Juno Beach, we saw houses with little Canadian flags on their lawns to mark the occasion. The entire day was a profound experience for both my husband and I.

But I was floored recently when I read a story of how local French developers want to build 70 condos on this historic site. A “questionable” municipal land deal handed these developers a large piece of land right next to the Juno Beach Centre.

There has been plenty of local opposition to it, and two years’ worth of litigation, which has all been paid for by the Centre. But to no avail.

A website called savejunobeach.ca has been set up to encourage Canadians to write to our MPs and to donate to the Juno Beach Centre Association so that they can continue to fight for this historic site. As we all know, once development starts, it doesn’t stop.

It was through the hard work of veterans that the Juno Beach Centre was built in the first place, and it is solely supported by volunteers and donations. And now, as the website says, “The legacy that our veterans built for future generations may disappear entirely.”

We need these sacred places, if only to remind us of the past and what those generations before us sacrificed for us. While the world witnesses a brutal invasion by another mad man, the saying “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” is more relevant than ever.

We have to save Juno Beach. Let we forget.

Happy Canada Day 2007 :-)







These images are from today, July 1st, 2007. Gracie and Michael and I spent some time at Fort Rodd Hill, which was an actual fort built in the late 1890’s to protect and defend Victoria and the Esquimalt Naval Base. It’s one of many national historic sites across the country, and every Canada Day there is a big celebration there with a military band, 21 gun salute, a huge birthday cake and lots of festivities.

Gracie and Michael and I wandered around the fort after the ceremonies, and Gracie and I took a few pictures. Gracie made those shirts that Michael and I are wearing, a few years back when she was taking Textiles 12 at Vic High. We wear them every year and always get lots of compliments. One year a lady came up to us and offered Gracie money if she would make her one!

The giant flag you see is actually attached to the lighthouse out in the harbour…I thought it was a cool shot 🙂 In another shot you can see the lighthouse which is actually on a very small island called Fisgard Island. The walkway was built out the lighthouse and you can go inside and tour around it.

You’ll also see a shot of the crowds taken from on top of the gunnary. In one shot, if you look carefully, you can see a big puff of smoke and Michael and Gracie plugging their ears as the 21 gun salute begins. I swear I didn’t plug my ears once 🙂 I’m not skeerd! You can also see Michael and Gracie exiting one of the many gun batteries and underground magazines that visitors can view at the Fort.

It was a nice, mild day, not too hot and not too crowded this year. Finally as we were driving away from the Fort, we spotted this beautiful deer on the side of the rode. I grabbed my camera, but I’m a goof and had it on another setting, so Gracie got a lovely shot. Oh, Canada!