These photographs are from the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery at Cintheaux in Normandy, France. In 2015 I attended a memorial ceremony here in honour of the Canadians who fought and died during the Battle of Normandy. The first two photos show the many attendees including a few visiting dignitaries. If you look in the background of the second photo, you will see a group of elderly gentlemen all carrying flags that bear the names of the towns that Canada liberated in World War II. The ceremony was conducted almost entirely in French and so I didn’t understand very much of what was said, but tears streamed down my cheeks when I understood that they were announcing the names of each town and the date that it was libertated by Canadians. I was overcome with emotion at the outpouring of gratitude from the French. Few of the veterans who fought in that war are still alive today, but the French haven’t forgotten the men and women who liberated their country. It was a very moving and humbling experience.
