News that his friend Dickin had been killed, along with many others, had to be set aside because Lt.-Col. His D-Day passed in a blur of action as he arranged the landing and dispersal of battalion vehicles. By 1944, Brown, now a captain, was a transport officer. Brown and his best friend, Glenn Dickin, were both high-school graduates and immediate candidates for officer training. But Brown’s own story was astounding.īorn in 1918, he was 22 when he left Manor, Sask., to join the newly mobilized Regina Rifle Regiment in 1940. When I met Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon Brown at his home in Red Deer, Alta., he agreed to seek out as many of his comrades as possible and gather accounts of their service. Here are the stories of some of the lesser-known veterans of the June 1944 invasion of Normandy.
Over the course of follow-up interviews, I forged relationships and, in some cases, sincere friendships with many of these heroes. Most of the veterans had never been asked to recall events in such detail before, but were anxious to have their stories and those of their comrades told. Before each interview, I reviewed each veteran’s unit war diary and other documents so I could ask detailed questions. Years ago, I was lucky to begin writing about Canadian veterans who had served in Normandy while many were still active and willing to talk about their experiences.