Seventy years ago, thousands of brave men stormed the beaches of Normandy, beginning a battle that would change the course of the Second World War.
At the Westlock Legion last Friday morning, June 6, three veterans of the war shared their memories of that day in 1944: Ernie Wood, Sandy Latimer and Tom McConaghy.
Wood’s memories of that day are undoubtedly more vivid than those of the other two — he was among the soldiers on the second boat that landed on Juno Beach.
“There was a terrible noise, and the sky blanked out with planes,” he said. “I tell you, you’ve never seen so many boats in that channel. I didn’t think the channel was big enough to hold all the boats that were in there.”
There was everything from the big battleships to the small transport boats that brought troops right to the beaches. The transport Wood was on was carrying troops as well as some equipment, including a piece of 25-pound artillery and some jeeps.
The troops on the boat ran into some trouble before they even hit the beach, as their transport got held up on a sand dune while still it was still out in the water.
“It didn’t get all the way in until they got some of it unloaded,” he said. “They got about half the guys off and a jeep made it in all right — they had kind of a floater thing — then they brought the rest of it in when they could get it in closer.”
Wood’s time in the war was spent as part of the Medical Corps and the Service Corps, but for the landing itself he was placed with the Queen’s Own Rifles.
“I’d just got out of the hospital shortly before D-Day, along with 31 other fellows,” he said. “We couldn’t get back to our own unit, so they sent us in as reinforcements.”
Of those 32 men, Wood was one of just seven who weren’t injured or killed.
After about four days of fighting, he was sent back to the beach to begin the work of getting casualties out to the hospital ship using an amphibious truck — no easy task after a week in a uniform that was “like plasterboard” once it had been wet and dried out again.
“We were in pretty tough shape,” he said. “We didn’t get much of a chance to get a clean uniform, and of course we had blood all over because we were first-aid people.”
When Wood was experiencing all this, he said he didn’t give much thought to the long-term historical significance of his efforts — obviously, there were more pressing matters at hand.
“We were hoping we’d come out in the winning end, anyway,” he said. “We were too busy trying to watch for mines and everything else.”
Nonetheless, the significance of what he did — and the horrors of war — endure to this very day. Time has served to lessen the psychological impact of caring for wounded soldiers in wartime, but some of those memories endure.
“I have the off bad dream now and again, and go through the whole damn thing again,” Wood said.
For McConaghy and Latimer, the events on D-Day and in the weeks following were observed from a distance — but nonetheless had an impact.
McConaghy was in England for the invasion, and thankful to be there after a British medical officer nearly sent him home because he had trouble with his feet. A Canadian medical officer, however, had upgraded his condition to a level that enabled him to remain with the Service Corps.
“I was in transport most of the time,” he said. “It was tough going. We were always the first on the roads in the morning, and had to clear off all the roadblocks from the debris.”
With the steady stream of German rockets and bombs dropping on England, being back across the English Channel by no means meant you were safely out of the action.
He eventually moved on to the guardhouse after three collisions — none of which were his fault — where he was eventually promoted to Sergeant.
“That wasn’t my cup of tea,” he said. “I wasn’t strict enough most of the time.”
Latimer heard about the D-Day invasion from back in Canada — he was still two months away from turning 19, the age at which soldiers were sent over to England.
He didn’t get onto the mainland of Europe until the invasion had successfully achieved its goal, and the front line was pushing into German territory.
“When I got into France, it was just finished being liberated,” he said.
At that point, of course, the Allies were still nowhere near out of the woods. Latimer and many others were sent to the front as reinforcements in the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, and there was always a constant demand for more.
“They never had enough reinforcements. A infantry platoon is 30 men, and sometimes we were down to eight,” he said. “I think they’d average about 15, so you only had half your firepower most of the time.”
Despite the challenges, the Allies eventually captured Berlin, and the war in Europe was over. The work for Latimer wasn’t done yet, however. He stayed as part of the occupation army in West Germany.
“That wasn’t so bad. Nobody shooting at you,” he said.
The three veterans said they had given thought to heading back to Courseulles-sur-Mer to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the invasion, but ultimately it was their age that prevented them — or more specifically, the high costs associated with age.
McConaghy said at his age, travel insurance to go anywhere out of the country costs at least $5,000, which is a prohibitive amount.
“I would have liked to get back for this one, but insurance and doctors said no way,” Wood said.
In the end, commemorating the anniversary on the beaches of Normandy surrounded by dignitaries and comrades-in-arms, or in the humble coffee room of the Westlock Legion surrounded by good friends isn’t crucial.
The pride these men show in helping to accomplish one of the most important feats of the 20th century, the defeat of Nazi Germany, is apparent — and well deserved.
