Small D-Day ceremony in Barrie features local veteran
A small ceremony was held in Barrie Sunday to commemorate the anniversary of D-Day.
The event, which usually features a parade with a band, was scaled back due to crowding limits in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A small group featuring dignitaries and legion leaders was joined by World War II veteran William Snow.
"It means, now it means a lot to me, but at that time it was just a scary time for me or anyone else," 98-year-old Snow says to CTV News. "We knew where we were going, and we knew how we had tried; it wasn't the first time, we tried to land in Europe or across the channel, and we knew what happened to the people before us."
Snow admits he doesn't remember the exact timing of his arrival but says it was just days after June 6, 1944.
"It's a day that I can remember always, still very strong," says Snow. "I was telling someone a couple of days ago I would just sit idly below, and I'd think a lot, and I was thinking about a certain time, certain thing happened, and that still made me cry at that time."
The veteran says despite the hardship, he has never regretted his service to his country. He was amongst the first troops to return home in Halifax and remembers that moment fondly.
"That was something that I will never forget. It wasn't all bad, is what I'm trying to say. We had the bad, but then we had the good," says Snow. "Coming back home when you didn't know if you would come or not and lots of times you thought you wouldn't. When you did get back, it was really something, quite the experience."
Barrie's local legion leaders say acknowledging the anniversary is more important now than ever, so our youngest generations don't forget the sacrifice many made.
"What they have today is because of what happened back then," says Fern Taillefer, a veteran services officer. "Everything that they have, their freedom is because of our soldiers who gave them that freedom and a lot of them paid the ultimate sacrifice for it. They need to know it wasn't free. It was earned by the soldiers back then."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.