To mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, the Bragg Creek Cenotaph Committee will be holding a special event on June 6 to honour the Allied soldiers who fought, and those who lost their lives, during this pivotal Second World War battle.
“I think really, fundamentally, there are two reasons why this year it is important to commemorate the D-Day landings of June 6, 1944,” explained Maj. Mark Griffiths (ret.) of the Cenotaph Committee. “The first, and perhaps most important, reason is that 2024 sees the 80th anniversary of those very influential D-Day landings, and that really there are now very few people that attended the D-Day landings that are still with us. And so really, it is incumbent upon us to renew our commitments to remembering those sacrifices as that generation of heroes passes.
“The second reason, quite honestly, is that through the course of D-Day, and the following days, there were an estimated 73,000 people that were recorded as missing in action or dead as a result of the D-Day landings and subsequent operations.”
The Bragg Creek Cenotaph Committee will host two separate ceremonies on June 6. The first will commence at 6:15 a.m. in order to commemorate the hour the D-Day invasion began at 6:30 a.m back in 1944. The second will be at 8:50 a.m. with students from Banded Peak School taking part. Both are open to the public and will take place at the Bragg Creek Cenotaph.
“It's gonna be a very short and respectful, intimate ceremony, and we're hopeful that people will come and join us,” said Griffiths. “Maybe five people will come, maybe 55, or maybe 555 people. I don't know, but people will be welcome to join us.”
Speaking of the veterans of that battle of long ago and far away, Griffiths stated: “They would be proud that we came.”
And given how few Second World War veterans remain, and fewer still who took part in the D-Day invasion, Griffiths felt marking the occasion took on added meaning this year.
“It's more important than ever that we re-energize ourselves to pass on the flame of responsibility to remember those sacrifices,” he said.
Following the 6:15 a.m. ceremony, there will be a gathering for attendees at the Cinnamon Spoon. There will also be another gathering following the 8:50 a.m. ceremony at Mabel and Marie’s.
