Morrison's musings on Dieppe - the last paragraph is a must read :-)

Standing on the beach where so many Canadians Lost their lives in defense of European freedom, one can't help but think back to how the beach must have looked as the soldiers were landing. Looking up from the shoreline you can see the cliff and the Three tiered beach. From this perspective it's easy to see why this landing was such a colossal failure. With the sunshine pouring in over the coast and a gentle breeze in the air its hard to imagine the beach covered with soldiers who would never see another day.

Mr. Hoganson & Lawson gave what would later be referred to as "the legendary Dieppe tour." One wonders how two individuals could be so knowledgeable.

I can only express the utmost thanks towards the teachers who have so generously given up their Spring Break in order to provide this safe, nurturing and engaging environment that is so essential for us to fully absorb the wonders of history. They deserve significant raises at the very least, and I'm certain complimentary cruises or holidays even a nice meal would not be enough for all they do for us. (there were no additions to this blog, it is an original and ernest post)

















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Juno Beach... Loren A

March 31st we went to Juno Beach. After watching 'Saving Private Ryan' and the opening scene on the beach you have an idea of what D Day would be like, but not a true understanding. Once we were all standing on the sand, all I kept thinking of was how could such a peaceful place exist after the horrors it had seen. We also went down into a German bunker, and down there everything from how many soldiers stayed down there to which direction the doors opened was strategically planned out so any invaders would fail. The fact that they won the war on Juno beach made me even more proud to be a Canadian!














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Matt's moments at Pointe du Hoc

We went to Pointe du Hoc and looked at all the devastation. Most of the bunkers were destroyed. I can't even imagine scaling these cliffs to make an attack, i stood on top of the cliff and it was over 100 ft! It would be brutal, I walked through the highly fortified bunkers and I believe they could destroy anything. But against all odds, the US Rangers succeeded. It is nice to see that they made such an impact. After two days of fighting, only 90 rangers remained. It was an exhilarating experience to visit this site!
















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Day 9 - Dan Hohmann

Ypres and area... Here's what we did:

- we went to the Essex Farm Memorial where In Flanders Fields was written
- I found a headstone for a soldier who was only 15 yrs old when he died
- we went to Tyne Cot Memorial, there were 11 000 graces here, I found out some very interesting things about Canadian troops
- we then went to Hill 62 and Vancouver Crossroads

It was a busy day filled with Canadian War History.



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Aaron Belot - WW2 begins with Coupole

Today marked the beginning of our WW2 tour by taking the trip to La Coupole, a facility sanctioned by Hitler and his officials to create a new and powerful weapons of mass destruction to set the stage for future warfare. The Nazi's would utilize the strength of their civilian prisoners as well as the brightest minds in Germany to construct their weapons of terror. Near the end of the war, the allies discovered La Coupole in 1945 most of the technology was untampered with and untouched. Warner Von Braun, a scientist for the Nazi, and 150 of his brightest engineers were hired after the war by the USA to help construct their first satellites and to help
With NASA's space program.








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Victoria Hill - Menin Gate

MENIN GATE YPRES BELGIUM

On the ninth day of our travels, we witness not only a memorial for the soldiers that put their lives at risk during WWI in Ypres against Germany nearly a century ago, but to remember the horror and bravery that should never be forgotten. This was essentially an archway that contains over 50 000 names of those who had lost their lives during the war but were never found, which is heart braking none the less. Seeing this ceremony has easily shows us to be grateful for the life you have currently and that no person should ever dismiss the memory of this fateful event during the 20th century.
I can honestly say this was a real privilege to get to see a collection of tourists, citizens, and different generations come together and unite to honor all of the fallen soldiers, having a few groups of different people come up to respectfully place reefs, poppies, or other things on the side of the arch. Seeing all of these people gathered around the arch at once, listening to the pipers play, was truly a highlight of the Europe trip for me,and even to say I watched the Menin Gate ceremony made me grateful.

To be continued....




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Dan Drisoll's Poem

Hello All,

Just wanted to let you know, that when I was typing Dan's poem, I forgot to flip the page and type the last 3 verses.  I have now updated it and it is worth the re-read.

Thanks for following and all your support.

Jason