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Remembering D-Day 72 years later

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It was 72 years ago that Canadian, American and British soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy for what will forever be remembered as D-Day.

They were about to embark upon the Great Crusade, the invasion of Europe.

A History professor at UBC and Langara, David Borys, says these soldiers were ordinary people tasked with this monumental mission.

“They were afraid, but they went ahead with it because that is what they were supposed to do. And many of them, on some level, understood the significance of what they were doing, but at the end of the day, these were just regular kids being asked to do extraordinary things.”

Borys says while Hollywood likes to give the credit to the United States for D-Day, Canada played a major role.

“It was actually Canadians who got the farthest on the landing day,” he says. “The Canadians got the furthest in terms of their objective.”

He says this was also symbolic of Canada’s role in the war.

“Even beyond just the military accomplishments of D-Day, it was a significant symbolic moment for Canada to be alongside these other leading nations in the beginning of the liberation of Europe.”

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