INNISFAIL – There was something special in the air on June 6 as several citizens began to gather at the Innisfail Cenotaph.
It was 80 years ago on this day when more than 14,000 Canadian soldiers, including men from Innisfail and the region, crossed the English Channel in an armada of 7,000 ships to take part in the long-awaited D-Day invasion.
One of those men was Innisfail’s Henry Howard, a tank gunner and radio operator for B squadron of the 10th Armoured Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse).
His unit bravely stormed Juno Beach on June 6, 1944.
“You look back over the ocean and all you can see is ships all over the place. That is all you could see when the daylight comes, no matter what direction you look,” Howard told Mountain View Publishing in 2016 shortly before his 100th birthday. “At times you were awfully scared but you had a job to do and you did it.
“As soon as you hit the beach it was, ‘get off, get going, get the heck out of here,'” added Howard, recalling the enemy fire going on all around him. “We had to get inland. We had to get the hell off the beach, to get going to make room for somebody else. There was so much coming in we had to get moving as fast as we could.”
Howard made it safely through that historic day, and went on to have a successful and happy life in Innisfail and area. He died on Aug. 16, 2018 at the age of 102.
Last week on June 6 about 35 Innisfailians made sure Howard’s courage and the sacrifice of so many others were not forgotten on the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
“It is important that our generation and successive generations continue to keep history alive and remember those who served their country,” said Arno Glover, a member of the Innisfail Royal Canadian Legion Branch #104 who facilitated a short but moving ceremony at the Innisfail Cenotaph to commemorate D-Day’s 80th anniversary.
“We are gathered here as the voice of those who never returned and of those who through age are now no longer present with us today.”
The solemn ceremony began with a Parade of Colours. There was a dedication read by Glover followed by a prayer from Rev. Ralph Warnock, the local legion’s chaplain.
And then there was a two-minute silence.
The mournful Piper’s Lament from Michael McLetchie filled the air; its pensive audience deep in contemplation of events never seen but which must always be remembered.
Lester Nickel, president of the legion, read out the Act of Remembrance. It was followed by another prayer from Warnock.
Three wreaths were laid at the cenotaph.
The Kohima Epitaph was then read by Glover.
The ceremony, which lasted just over 15 minutes, ended with the dismissal of the Colour Party.
“This is such an important part of history; the landing at Normandy turned the war around and eventually stopped the Nazis and gave us what we enjoy today,” said mayor Jean Barclay immediately after the ceremony.
“It's quite a feat what they did, and I hope we never forget what they did, what they gave us.”
