Wallaceburg and District Museum officials say June 6 of this year will mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, one of the largest military operations in history.
“On June 6, 1944, around 156,000 allied soldiers invaded the beaches of Normandy, France,” Kaelyn Gregory, curator at the Wallaceburg and District Museum, told the Sydenham Current.
“This was the beginning of an operation code named ‘Operation Overlord’ in which the goal was to liberate France from German control. ‘Operation Overlord’ would not end until August 30, 1944. By the end of the first day, there had been over 4,000 allied deaths, with 5,000 more wounded. This number would grow substantially over the next weeks.”
In honour of the 80th anniversary of this event, the Wallaceburg and District Museum has been researching veterans from Wallaceburg and area who participated in ‘Operation Overlord’.
Gregory says the Museum understands this may not be a complete history.
“If you know of a veteran who should be included in (our) research please do not hesitate to reach out,” Gregory added.
Research was taken from the collection of the Wallaceburg Museum, ‘No return Ticket’ by Alan Mann, Gathering Our Heroes, the Commonwealth War Graves and Library and Archives Canada, Gregory said.
Dana Haggith caught up with Gregory for an interview. Listen, below:
Have a look at the veterans recognized, below:
