GALLERY: Legion members observe 80th anniversary of D-Day outside new building

Thursday marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

On June 6, 1944, Allied troops from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and other countries landed on the beaches at Normandy in northern France to liberate western Europe from the armies of Nazi Germany. 156,000 Allied soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy by the end of that day. 

Thursday also marked the first time Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 members held their annual D-Day ceremony outside Branch 25’s new office and apartment complex at 96 Great Northern Road.

The ceremony included the first time that three flags - the Canadian flag, the Red Ensign (Canada’s flag during the Second World War) and the Legion flag - were unfurled outside the new Legion building.

Branch 25 members were joined by Sault Mayor Matthew Shoemaker, members of the public who lost family members in the Second World War and Sam Biasucci, SalDan Developments president. 

SalDan Developments built the new nine-storey, 108-unit accessible building which is co-owned by Branch 25 and Veterans Housing Inc., a group that includes Biasucci.

“D-Day was the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare. The statistics are staggering. The landing marked the start of a long and costly campaign in northwest Europe that ultimately convinced the German High Command that defeat was inevitable,” said Pierre Breckenridge, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 president in a speech.

The Allies used over 5,000 ships and landing craft to land more than 150,000 troops on five beaches at Normandy. Almost 15,000 Canadian troops landed at Juno Beach. 

The Royal Canadian Navy contributed 110 warships and 10,000 sailors while the Royal Canadian Air Force contributed 15 fighter and fighter-bomber squadrons to the massive assault.

There were 1,074 Canadian casualties, including 359 deaths on ‘The Longest Day.’

After Canada and its Allies gained a foothold at Normandy and, after a long, bloody war which liberated western Europe from Hitler, Germany surrendered to the Allies May 7, 1945.

“We always must remember the terrible price of war,” Breckenridge said.

“We remember the heroics of all the men who landed on the beaches and sacrificed their lives to give us what we get to enjoy today and we owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid but we can honour their memory. We thank those who have lost loved ones, those who continue to serve and continue to honour the memories of all those of battles past,” Mayor Shoemaker said.

“Canada’s contribution as a small nation was significantly more than some other nations in terms of percentage of population and contribution. Canada’s got a lot to be proud about,” said Clyde Healey, Branch 25 member and 49th Field Artillery Regiment acting Honorary Colonel in an interview with SooToday.

“We had the fourth largest air force, the third largest navy and probably the fourth largest army in the conflict. That’s a lot of people, a lot of resources, a lot of time and effort put in by a country that had a population of only about 15 million back then, so almost 10 per cent of our population was involved in this war. That’s significant by anybody’s standard. We can hold our heads high about our contributions.”

Thursday’s ceremony included the singing of O Canada, opening and closing prayers by Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 chaplain Phil Miller, speeches by Breckenridge and Shoemaker, the playing of The Last Post, the laying of wreaths and singing of God Save The King. 

“It feels excellent to be here. It’s a beautiful-looking building and it’s a nice day for an important event like this,” said Healey, who chaired the Legion’s new building committee.

“It makes me proud to see this beautiful building and the work that we have done over the last three years with Sam Biascucci and his people. I couldn’t be more proud of the relationship we have with him, the work that he has put into it and he has kept every commitment he made to us in this process.”

Tenants are moving into the apartment complex with a soft opening of the new facility to be held in July. An official opening ceremony will be held later this year.

Preference for occupancy of the units has been given to veterans, then Legion members, then the general public.

Several men from the Sault and Algoma District served during the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944 and survived that day.

They include Ed Bedard, Fred Middleton, John [Jack] Nash, Kenneth Daynard, Edwin Rose and Bernard Nadjiwon.

Those men are now deceased.

It is not known if any Sault and Algoma D-Day veterans are still living.

“There were those who landed who did not survive (from the Sault and Algoma District), and there were those who were in supporting roles who never stormed the beach, but provided air cover and who were part of the naval crews who transported either across the channel or to the beach itself,” Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 chaplain Phil Miller told SooToday.

The Cenotaph and the GFL Memorial Gardens wall includes names of Sault and Algoma men who landed at Normandy but did not survive.

They include:

• Thomas Hackford, 1st Hussars, buried in Beny-Sur-Mer Cemetery, died June 6, 1944
• Harry Osborne, 1st Hussars, buried in Beny-Sur-Mer Cemetery, died June 6, 1944
• Robert Grigg, Royal Canadian Air Force, 421 Squadron, died June 7, 1944, lost in the English Channel, remembered at the Runnymede Memorial
• Robert Burnett, Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, buried in Beny-Sur-Mer Cemetery, died June 6, 1944
• Robert Catling, Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, buried in Beny-Sur-Mer Cemetery, died June 6, 1944
• Edward Copeland, Royal Winnipeg Rifles, buried in Beny-Sur-Mer Cemetery, died June 6, 1944
• Bruce Galloway, Highland Light Infantry of Canada, died June 24, 1945, buried in Holten Cemetery, Holland. He survived the war, but was killed in an accident in Holland
• Alexander Goodall, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, buried in Bretteville Sur Laize Cemetery, died on June 8, 1944.
• Thomas Grant, Royal Canadian Artillery, buried in Beny-Sur-Mer Cemetery, died June 8, 1944
• Melville MacKay, 1st Hussars, remembered on the Bayeux Memorial, no known grave, died June 11, 1944
• Beverley McClelland, Royal Winnipeg Rifles, buried in Beny-Sur-Mer Cemetery, died July 6, 1944
• Stanley Patton, 1st Hussars, Calais Cemetery, died September 25, 1944
• Peter Perederka, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, buried in Bretteville Sur Laize Cemetery, died on July 21, 1944.
• William Pine, Royal Regiment of Canada, buried in Bretteville Sur Laize Cemetery, died on July 27, 1944.
• Wallace Roussain, Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, buried in Beny-Sur-Mer Cemetery, died June 23, 1944
• Joseph Sachro, 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, buried in Ranville Cemetery, died June 14, 1944 
• Ernest Sagle, Royal Regiment of Canada, buried in Beny-Sur-Mer Cemetery, died July 16, 1944
• Reginald Smith, Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, buried in Beny-Sur-Mer Cemetery, died July 18, 1944