Dieppe soldiers remembered

Re. “The Dieppe raid deserves a better commemoration,” Opinion, Aug. 19

I read with great interest Tyler Dawson’s opinion column about honouring the Canadian soldiers who participated in the appropriately described ill-fated Dieppe Raid in 1942.

Some better research on his part could have more fully explained the purpose of this raid.

I recommend David O’Keefe’s One Day in August: The Untold Story Behind Canada’s Tragedy at Dieppe. This book reframes the way we think about Dieppe and gives new meaning to that battle.

Based upon the news reports of that day, the Canadian military had little choice but to remain positive about the raid, but today time has given us the perspective to view this event in a different light.

For those like me with a connection to the Dieppe raid, there are ways to remember and commemorate the bravery and service of the Canadian troops. I have witnessed the appreciation of the locals in Dieppe and Pourville who never forget the bravery of all the troops; I have walked the beach my dad ran up 75 years ago; and I give thanks that he was one of the lucky ones — captured, interned as a PoW for almost three years, yet able to return home to Winnipeg to get on with life with Mom and my oldest sister.

I do not feel the need for a separate remembrance ceremony. Nov. 11 works very well for me.

I think of Dad most days for what he sacrificed, how he and Mom raised their family, and for the opportunities he allowed my siblings and I to pursue. For me, that is a more fitting remembrance than another ceremony.

Allan McCalder, Sherwood Park