Royal Regina Rifles help recognize 79th anniversary of D-Day
It’s been 79 years since the war effort known as 'D-Day,' which eventually led to the liberation of western Europe during World War II. The day was marked with a service in Normandy with the Royal Regina Rifles on hand.
D-Day remains the largest combined land, sea and air invasion ever attempted and the effort is often credited with turning the tide of the Second World War.
Out of Canada's 1,096 total causalities on D-Day, the Regina Rifles sustained 102.
Lt.-Col (retired) Ed Staniowski spoke with CTV Morning Live from what was once a German bunker near Juno Beach.
“It’s pretty special to be here and I had a chance to be here with some of the veterans who sadly have since passed away, as you know it’s been 79 years, but a special statue will be erected for them next year on the 80th anniversary which will be a very big event,” Staniowski said.
Having served in the military himself, Staniowski said it always tugs on his heartstrings to visit the historic site.
“I think of the sacrifice that those young men from Saskatchewan and all across Canada made when they landed here on Juno Beach to liberate France and onto Belgium and then onto the Netherlands,” he said.
Staniowski said hearing the continued appreciation from current day residents of Normandy, Belgium and other parts of Europe always resonates with him.
“These are wonderful people in Normandy and in Belgium and in Holland and it really resonates with those of us here from Canada and get to hear stories first hand.”
In Regina, a ceremony was held in front of city hall to commemorate one of the most important days in the history of the Rifles.
A display of courage and heroism that still inspires members of the Rifles, nearly 80 years later.
“The soldiers of the Regina Rifle Regiment, as it was known then, good old farm boys from across Saskatchewan, known as the Farmer Johns, knew how to pick up that fight, and assault those beaches and fight inland further than any of the other Allied forces that day,” Lt.-Col Kyle Clapperton, commanding officer of the Royal Regina Rifles, said in his speech.
Anyone who wishes to donate to 'Operation Calvados' the Rifles' effort to erect a statue on Juno Beach for the 80th anniversary of the landings, can find the fundraiser here.
German prisoners taken by Canadian troops at Juno Beach, D-Day, during the invasion of Europe, on June 6, 1944. THE CANADIAN PRESS/National Archives of Canada, Frank L. Dubervill, PA-133754.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.