juno

junoI saw so many of my buddies and friends die on Juno Beach that I figure it is very hallowed grounds." Martin was a company quartermaster-sergeant with the Queen's Own Rifles during the assault and later ran tours to the beach where 359 Canadians were killed. The French government announced last week that it was receiving tenders for over 1,000 wind turbines off the country's northwestern coast, including at Courseulles-sur-mer, where Juno Beach is located. The entire project is eventually predicted to power more than 4.5 million homes. The numbers don't sway 87-year-old Martin. He said the turbines might take away from the sombre historical significance of the site.


"We were the only regiment without tank support and yet we penetrated further inland than any other unit in the whole D-Day assault," he said. "It's very important that people know what the Canadians had to go through to make it a historical site." Retired major Roy E. Eddy agrees, saying it's important for Canadians to keep the memory of Juno Beach alive. "I'd like to forget about it, but I don't want to," said the veteran, who was 20 when he lost many friends on the beach. "None of us slept for about 72 hours, the noise and the sound was just earth shattering." The 86-year-old said he's not against wind farms, but doesn't want to see them constructed opposite an area where so many Canadians died. Veterans Affairs Canada says it "understands and shares" the concerns of those who fought for freedom. "We wouldn't see it appropriate to develop on the actual site where the battle of Juno occurred," said a spokeswoman for Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney.



But while voices in Canada have lashed out against the French plan, the Juno Beach Centre at the famous site itself has decided to accept the French government's proposal. "We see absolutely no impact other than the visual one, and we're prepared to live with it," said director Don Cooper. The centre was approached by French locals looking to oppose the project but after consultation with its board, which includes veterans, decided not to stand in way of the plan which will see turbines developed some 10 kilometres offshore. "In a perfect world one might say we'd prefer not to have it, but I think it's something that goes with what happens in the environment today," said Cooper. "To me it's no different than a freighter going by in the channel."

juno