20 August – Dieppe Day 3 (afternoon) – Envermeu, Berneval, Saint Martin de Campagne

We get back to the hotel, freshen up, race down to the pedestrian mall, and look for the book Raid de Dieppe at the store McPress. Johanne is desperate to have the book because Mathieu said he would autograph it for us. With the clock ticking (remember the bus leaves at 15:15 and it is now 15:00) we run down the street, find the bookstore and buy the book. It is now 15:12. We start running towards city hall where we hope to find the buses still waiting. Bogged down by the weight of her purse, running in her sandles, and carrying our lunch, and the new book, Johanne falls behind telling me to go on. I do (I guess I should have offered to carry something), and after a few blocks, I turn the corner, ignore the red light, and rush across the boulevard. At city hall, I find the 3 buses sitting with no one (not even the drivers) in them. I gesture for Johanne to slow down. We sit, rest, and she eats the lunch I picked up earlier. I decide to save mine for later.

Our first stop is Envermeu, a little town about 11 km from Dieppe. After receiving treatment at the Hotel Dieu Hospital, this is where battered Canadian POWs were marched, carrying their wounded. We stop at the church where the officer POWs spent the night. The enlisted men were marched to an abandoned factory some 6 km away. Mathieu shows Johanne several photos in his book of the soldiers in front of the factory. “Darn,” she says. “I wish I would have seen these last year when we were here looking for the factory!” The ceremonies began with speeches by dignitaries and Jacques Nadeau, laying of wreaths and singing of national anthems (a few more ceremonies and I’ll be singing La Marseillaise too).

Johanne is busy with Mathieu and one of the other authors, Nicolas Bucourt, reviewing ours and his book. Mathieu sees photos of Iceland in ours that he doesn’t have. She offers to email copies to him.

Next stop is Berneval, the site where No 3 British Commandos and U.S. Rangers landed. Mathieu decides to join us on the bus so he could chat some more with Johanne about Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal. On the bus, I chat with Christophe, a former paratrooper in the French No 4 Commando Unit. He is extremely proud of his 7 years of service and judging by his looks, he must have been quite intimidating to the bad guys. I tell him of my dad. He listens intently and then makes me a promise, a promise from a former commando. Each time he will fish at the beach at Dieppe, he will lay a flower at the memorial for Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal. I am overcome by the emotion of the moment and can’t respond, other than with the tears in my eyes.

At Berneval, citizens of the town are sitting in rows of plastic chairs anxiously waiting for our arrival. Amazing!
. Ceremonies begin – speeches, wreath laying, and National Anthems.
. We walk a short distance to St Martin de Campagne to lay wreaths at the memorial for those killed in the attack. The cliffs and the sea are so beautiful. Its hard to imagine that 70 years ago, so many young soldiers lost their lives here.


This is the site of the 1st U.S. casualty of WWII. Lieutenant Edward Vincent Loustalot died attacking a German machine gun position at the top of the cliffs. At this point, my camera battery dies (the 2nd time over the last 3 days). Johanne gives me a look but says nothing. I guess a second battery would be a good idea. After a moving ceremony at the memorial that included the laying of a wreath by a U.S. Senator from Michigan, we retire to tables set up nearby filled with canapés and champagne. The town put on a wonderful spread for us. Around 8:00 pm the bus takes us back to the city hall in Dieppe. An emotional end to 3 days of touching and heartfelt ceremonies!

I must add a few comments here about the 70th anniversary. The effort, dedication, sincerity, and contribution of French organisers and citizens to make this event a success astound me. They are passionate about implanting the memory of 19 August 1942 in their young. In the morning, we met Celia Godard and her 17 yr old son Julian on our bus. They are from Dieppe and have been attending the 19 August 1942 commemorate ceremonies since Julian was in a stroller. Like many of the Dieppe citizens, they recognise the sacrifices of those young Canadians who gave their lives or their freedom for the Dieppois. They are genuinely interested in Canadians, our lives, and our families’ stories from the war. They listen so attentively about the soldiers – they want to know everything about them, their names, where they came from, and what brought them to fight for another countries’ freedom. During every ceremony from the 18th to the 20th August, and in every town on the busy commemorative agenda, small Canadian flags were everywhere. French citizens, young and old, held the flag proudly, as if it were their own. On everyone’s lapel was a poppy. They have adopted us. We have bonded and become one.

Merci infiniment