Manitobans humbled, proud, honoured to be part of D-Day 80th anniversary celebrations in France

Posted on June 6, 2024 by Peggy

Students from Cross Lake First Nation, Métis musicians and Premier Wab Kinew are part of a strong Manitoba contingent at ceremonies in France to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday.

“[To be] here with so many Manitobans and Canadians and … people from around the world to commemorate, it’s just something that inspires humility, and I think reminds us of the need to stand up for democracy and freedom,” Kinew said from Juno Beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer, one of five beaches used during the Allied invasion of German-occupied France on June 6, 1944, during the Second World War.

Some 14,000 Canadians landed at Juno Beach as part of the largest seaborne invasion in history.

More than 4,400 Allied troops died that day, the beginning of the bloody 77-day Battle of Normandy and the start of the liberation of France.

“My job only exists because of the sacrifice that they made. We don’t get to cast a ballot in Canada or Manitoba, we don’t have elected officials, unless they are successful on D-Day,” said Kinew, who went onto the beach where the landings took place and spoke with the handful of veterans who are still alive and able to participate in the events.

“To come back these many years later and to just say thank you, to shake their hands, to look them in the eyes and to express the appreciation — it’s just such a powerful reminder … of the requirement for us to keep the living memory of that heroism alive.”

Older men in military uniforms, with medals on their chests, sit in chairs. A younger man in a suit with a poppy on the lapel kneels in front of one of them, smiling. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with veteran Jim Parks on Juno Beach following the Canadian commemorative ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Courseulles-sur-Mer, France. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

He and MLA David Pankratz, Manitoba’s military liaison, also became the first people representing the provincial government to place a wreath at a place called Chateau D’Audrieua, a monument to 24 Canadian soldiers, most of them members of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, killed as prisoners of war.

“To look at the list of names and to recognize family names of friends and people that I think any Manitoban would be able to place to their social network, it really just hits home at how widespread these events were,” Kinew said.

“And so absolutely it’s important as the leader of the province to acknowledge what took place at this massacre.”

Among those with whom Kinew spoke was Jim Parks, who lives now in Ontario at age 100, but was part of the Rifles contingent that landed on Juno Beach.

“[They] were some of the first off the boats, the first to land, and played a pivotal role in terms of the ultimate success — not only the Battle of Normandy and D-Day, but of course the ultimate liberation of Europe and the conquest of democracy over fascism. So we’re very proud of the Rifles, we’re very proud of Fort Garry Horse,” Kinew said.

“We had folks from our province, not only in those regiments, but also in the air force and carrying out many, many important functions. Many women from our province also served the war effort.

“To be here on this day, to have a chance to speak with Jim … it was really amazing.”

A man plays guitar and a woman plays a fiddle — Manitobans Mitchell Makoons, a Métis guitarist from Brandon, and Morgan Grace, a Métis fiddler from East Selkirk, play for thousands of people attending the Canadian ceremony on Thursday. (CBC News pool feed)

Mitchell Makoons, a Métis guitarist from Brandon, and Morgan Grace, a Métis fiddler from East Selkirk, played for thousands of people attending the Canadian ceremony on Thursday.

They were part of a delegation of 34 people from the Manitoba Métis Federation, from youth to veterans, who made the trek to Normandy.

“It was so overwhelming … to actually be here and step on the beach where so many Red River Métis, you could say they were youths, gave up their lives for the war,” said Richard Genaille, MMF minister of youth and sport.

A man in a cowboy hat and colourful shirt stands close to the camera. — Richard Genaille, minister of youth and sport for the Manitoba Métis Federation cabinet, says it was overwhelming to see Juno Beach in person. (CBC News pool feed)

Jaydis Colombe, a Grade 10 student from Mikisew School in Cross Lake, more than 500 kilometres north of Winnipeg, took part in a shared reading of the poem Commitment to Remember during Thursday’s ceremonies.

She read in Cree, thrust into the role when another student slated to do it lost her voice the previous evening.

A girl in glasses and an orange T-shirt speaks into a microphone outside at a podium — Jaydis Colombe, a Grade 10 student from Mikisew School in Cross Lake, reads the poem Commitment to Remember in Cree during Thursday’s ceremonies. (CBC News pool feed)

“My teachers helped me pronounce the words. They helped me learn the words and what they meant,” Colombe said.

“I’m very, very thankful I was able to do that. Everyone’s proud of me back home. Everyone’s proud of me here, and I’m proud of myself.

“This ground is full of bravery and I’m glad that I was brave enough to go stand up there and be brave,” she said. “I was able to let them hear our language, you know, through my voice.”