D-DAY: 70th anniversary of World War II turning point

Thank you Bill Hale for your service to our country.  You are a true Canadian Hero. 
OBITUARY HERE:

Story Written by Brent Boles for The Sarnia Observer.

(2014) As the first rays of sun broke over the beaches of Normandy, Bill Hale was huddled inside the hull of a tank.

It was 70 years ago, at six in the morning that Allied ships docked on the coast of France and launched an offensive that would ultimately take back Europe and put an end to World War II.

“There was a lot of gunfire … and unfortunately a lot of dead soldiers and servicemen on the beaches. It was like a massacre really – but we got the upper hand,” said Hale, remembering the historic turning point.

As many as 19,000 soldiers would die on June 6, 1944 – also known as D-Day – in a battle that ended with Allies securing a foothold in Nazi-occupied France.

Hale, now 91, still has much of that day seared into his memory.

He remembers his tank being dropped by boat into six feet of water and guiding it up the beach toward the Nazi soldiers on shore.

He remembers peering through the periscope and witnessing soldiers being gunned down in front of him.

“That was the first time I’d ever seen a person shot like that,” he said. “I was about 19 years old. I had no wife, no kids … I didn’t care if I lived or died.”

Hale is one of the few who still remember first hand.

With seven decades having passed since the battle, few veterans are still living.

It’s important to share the stories before there’s no one left to tell them, said Hale.

“(Young people) have to realize what went on over there,” said Hale. “They have to realize that all the service people went over there for one reason – to give them freedom.”

The importance of remembering the event rings home for many area families.

Many of the soldiers who served in the invasion were from Sarnia and southwestern Ontario.

Some made it home, some did not.

“There’s quite a few (veterans) from Sarnia,” said Simon Vanderbyl of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Vanderbyl said that anniversaries like this one offer an important opportunity for education.

“I think it’s very important and is a good opportunity for the kids to learn.”

One way for them to do that is to listen to the experiences of veterans like Hale while they have the chance.

In Hale’s case, they almost never had the chance.

While still on the beaches of Normandy, his tank plummeted into a shell hole and almost got stuck, which would have left the crew stranded.

“I thought, ‘Oh God, what a way to die.’”

But he didn’t die. He came back home after the war and lived in the country he fought for.

“I was always called Lucky in the army,” said Hale. “And I think I was lucky – well, I’m here today.”

In 2007, Hale was recognized with a French Legion of Honour medal for his bravery in freeing the French people.

“There’s a lot of people laying over there (that) did just as much as I did.”