May 8: Juno Beach

On May 8 at around 5.45 AM, John and me and David walked along Juno Beach and watched the sun rise over the water. It was stunning and beautiful and amazing and beyond words. John and David have some great photos of it, but nothing could live up to being there. It was amazing because around that time on June 6, 1944, Canadian troops walked on the same spots, ran up the same sand, and led to the end of the war.

We had a guided tour through the memorial which was a different experience than Vimy Ridge because it is not a centre funded / organized by the Canadian government but by Canadian veterans. The stories told and the way the experience was expressed was from a different perspective which I appreciate.

I have to say, it's sad that the centre was only founded in 2006. Veterans visited the site and to their dismay, it was a camp ground. It really was an experience but to get the full effect I am glad we were there early morning.

We left France and went back toward England, arriving late last night and finally getting a good night's sleep and a great sleep-in.

Overall the Europe war-site experience was emotionally exhausting, educational, liberating, fun, overwhelming, and something to be proud of. I do appreciate the experiences of soldiers and the effort they put towards winning the war, I appreciate it so much more than beforehand and felt a consistent pride in Canada's contribution. I will never forget or regret any experience I've had on this trip to Belgium, Germany and France. It was phenomenal and I think that every Canadian should have the opportunity to see our history, outside of Canada.

I still have mixed emotions about the cause of the wars and Canada's participation in WWI, the sheer treatment of people - real people - by governments and other real people... the propaganda used to force people into becoming soldiers, the scare tactics, the brutality of real war, the history, the way the world has changed so much after it.. it's all so much.. but it's reality, it's what happened and as cliche as this is, every Canadian needs to be educated about it and know where the world went wrong so we don't do it again.