I will never forget my experience in western Normandy many years ago. I was on a study trip in Brittany, in western France. Part of the experience included a number of excursions around the area.
This one trip in particular we went to St. Malo, from where Jacques Cartier sailed and eventually saw what is now Canada, and then on to Mont St. Michel. Mont St. Michel is the famous monastery that sits off the north coast of France and is accessible by land in low tide.
While in the area our group had dinner in a small local restaurant. While I cannot remember much about the meal years later, I will never forget the reception we received when the owner, staff and other locals found out that in the group there were several Canadians.
Their reaction was almost embarrassing. However, even though more than thirty years later, we were Canadians, and by association we represented a link to the past. The D-Day landings of World War II had been close by. In this particular area Canadians troops had been particularly active in the landing and the liberation of the area. Many of these people remembered. Others, too young to remember, knew very well the story and made the connection.
I had read accounts and seen photos of the liberation of parts of Europe at the end of the war. I could imagine the relief, the joy, the excitement and outright hysteria that was happening at the time.
For me, it became very obvious how much more than I ever anticipated the actions of Canadian troops in D-Day meant to the people of Normandy. I still wonder if we truly appreciate the efforts our Canadian troops and others made.
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