George Chow says he was just shy of 19 and had no idea what he was getting into when he enlisted to serve in the Second World War.
He arrived at the Vancouver train station from his home in Victoria in 1941 and boarded the eastbound train for Halifax, with a stop for training in Windsor, Ont., before embarking for Europe.
B次元官网网址淲e werenB次元官网网址檛 being patriotic, we just joined for adventure,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淥ut of the 250 people in my battery, I think thereB次元官网网址檚 only one or two of us left now.B次元官网网址�
Chow was among several veterans of the Second World War who gathered at the same Via Rail Canada train station Friday for a commemorative event honouring the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy.
A pair of combat boots was loaded on a train bound for Halifax and Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay said they will serve as a visual representation of the journey so many Canadians made to serve.
B次元官网网址淭hey traded their civilian shoes for military boots, they left their family and friends behind, and they headed halfway around the world to defend our freedom, our democracy and our peace,B次元官网网址� MacAulay said.
The battles are among CanadaB次元官网网址檚 most significant military engagements of the 20th century.
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About 14,000 Canadians stormed Juno Beach in northern France on D-Day, June 6, 1944. It marked the beginning of the Battle of Normandy, in which 5,000 Canadians died and more than 13,000 were wounded.
Chow was among six veterans who served at D-Day and Normandy who were present for the commemoration. He was part of an artillery group that landed at Normandy before moving inland to Caen.
B次元官网网址淚 lost a lot of friends in Dieppe, I lost a lot of friends in Germany,B次元官网网址� he said.
He also survived two B次元官网网址渇riendly fireB次元官网网址� bombings, first by American troops then a British-Canadian combined force.
B次元官网网址淭hose were the bad times,B次元官网网址� he said.
Norm Kirby said there must have been some confusion when he enlisted from the VancouverB次元官网网址檚 North Shore but was assigned to New BrunswickB次元官网网址檚 North Shore Regiment. Although almost the entire regiment was francophone, he said they found ways to communicate.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e never met and never had such fine friends as those from New Brunswick. IB次元官网网址檓 sad to say thereB次元官网网址檚 only two of us left,B次元官网网址� Kirby said.
Kirby said on his way to the beach on D-Day, his landing craft hit a mine that almost tore off the bottom of the vessel.
B次元官网网址淟uckily, I was one of the ones who was able to get to shore,B次元官网网址� he said.
MacAulay said commemorative ceremonies will be held in nine communities across the country as the train makes its journey.
The federal government says it is also hosting several other remembrance events for the anniversary, including events at the SailorsB次元官网网址� Memorial and Citadel National Historic Site in Halifax and a candlelight ceremony in Victoria in the coming months.
Amy Smart, The Canadian Press
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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