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82-The Canadian Champion, Friday, June 11, 2004 Thank you for the walk in the park, brave soldiers TS SUPER SLOTS TOURMAMENT TIME AT SLOTS AT MOHAWK RACETRACK! L1 6 DAILY mo.dyTmndaWedneuday. QUALIFYING My24-J=..2, 004. SESSIONS 11aOOfAM- 813"P FINAL SESSIONS Nosday, Tuemday, Wedniday JuamiS, 2%30,2004 6100p. $5,000 ln prlzezawarded *ach final sesuion day' les. $2,000 4th-9thu$150 For informaton, cRsMli 0-8S4403 3rds $100. or t803.3 k...d bd.o - M tl)lxii ,tle tc pI h 1 f'eit that way during the 60th anniversary festivities of D-Day. The week befre 1 had seen part of a documentary on a failed Canadian war effort. It wasn't Dieppe, but something else, and 1 turned it off in disgust. For some reason Canadian media wants to recognize our failures more than Our successes. 1 don't recaîl any American or British movies about their failures, and they had a lot more than us. We don't need the media to make us proud of our country's war efforts, but a week of D-Day spe- cials on the History Channel did a good job of it, which was a nice change. Canadians had a major part in the biggest invasion in history - there were 18,000 of us. The Americans had two beachcs, thc British had two beaches, and we had Juno Beach. And we were arguahly the best that day, advancing further than anyone else. That's thc stuff we should be making movies about. In any event 1 watched the cere- monies on CBC Sunday, as well as Uic movies, and al Uic documen- taries. 1 watched the veterans marching in Ottawa, some of Uiem hobbling, some of them in wheet- chairs. 1 wached a vetera.n wipe tears froin his eycs as he remein- On the loose bered Uiat day. I watched veterans recalling their experiences and breaking down when talking about their friends getting killed right beaide Uiem. One of Uic documentaries fea- tured a camera inside one of Uic boats landing on Juno Beach, and they didn't look as scared as Uiey must have been. One by one Uiey left thc boat and went into Uic water. Nobody hesitated. We can watch the movies, such a.s Saving Private Ryan and 'he Longest Day, but we cas t imagine the horror of running up on a beach into Uic face of machine guis tire, not knowing if you'd live for more than a couple of steps. Many of Uiem didn't. My uncle ras up on Juno Beach and was shot in the leg. He was one of the lucky ones. He still limps to Uis day, but 1lve neyer heard him complain about it. They did what Uiey had to do, and Uicy didn't question it. That's unlike some wars. My cousin was killed in Vietnam and his own dcath. -He neyer under- stood why his son had to die. 'The Second World War was dif- ferent. Everybody kncw. Everybody understood. People sacrificed their lives for others. Canadians did that. Soldiers from Milton did that. They displayed a bravery few of us can even comprehend. When 1 was 19, mny main concem was when Uic next party was gomng to start. Not those people. Their worry was considerably more important. 1 took my granddaughter for a walk in her stroller Sunday. We went to Victoria Park. She likes to watch Uic watcr fountain, but this time we spent some time at Uic war memorial. It was my first time Iooking at it, and 1 rcad over Uic names careful- ]y, from Allais to Walsh. Others had fainiliar Milton last naines, such as Robertson. 1 don't know who among Uiem died on D-Day, but as I Iooked at my granddaughter, I knew Uis. My father was in Uic Royal Canadian Air Force ini Uic Second World War. If he had dicd, 1 wouldn't be here, my kids wouldn't be here, and my granddaughter wouldn't be here. These men neyer got to bring their grandchild for a walk to Uic park. But because of Uiem, I did. W 1 .h*fiedDeta CH ITIA