Don Levers is wrestling with a myriad of “what ifs” as he embarks on a personal pilgrimage to the coast of Normandy with his daughter and granddaughter to find the spot where their father nearly lost his life 80 years ago.
On June 6, 1944, rifleman Jerry Levers of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles went ashore with the second wave of troops to take part in the Allied campaign to liberate Europe. He actually made it a few kilometres inland from the coast of Juno Beach.
A few hours later, German machine gunners opened fire on a platoon advancing on the village of Saint-Croix-sur-Mer, about three miles inland from the landing site.
Wounded in the right thigh, he staggered back to the coast, from where he was evacuated to Britain, and was one of the first Canadian casualties interviewed by CBC Radio after the Normandy landings.
He later rejoined his unit and continued fighting until VE Day in May 1945. Hardworking and practical, he raised a family and lived a good life.
ジェリー・レバーズが海岸に到着してからちょうど80年目の木曜日、彼の家族はクルシュルメール地方で彼の足跡をたどり、彼が負傷した塩の飛沫がかかった野原を探す計画を立てている。
ドン・レバーズは、大きな誇りを感じると同時に、父親が与えた運命に驚嘆せずにはいられません。
1986年に亡くなったジェリー・レバーズは、二度とノルマンディーに戻ることはなかった。彼の息子は、父親の軍務に生涯にわたって興味を持ち続け（それについての本も書いた）、2019年の75周年記念式典に出席した。
CBC ニュースはノルマンディーからの D デイ 80 周年特別報道を掲載しています。詳細についてはここをクリックしてください。
ドン・レバーズは、その驚きと偶然の幸運を、ブリティッシュコロンビア州ビクトリアに住む今や10代の孫娘に伝えようと決意して帰国した。
「私は彼女に写真を見せながら、『あなたをあの場所に連れて行きたい。私たちがここにいられることがどんなに幸運なことか、あなたに気づいてほしい』と言いました」とレバーズは涙を浮かべながら語った。「そしてもし [D-Day] If the outcome had been different, none of us would be here.”
For years after the war, Ms. Levers’ father would often joke that if his Normandy landing scar had been a few centimetres higher, he would never have been able to have children.
It’s one of the “what ifs” that continue to haunt Don Levers: He wonders if Fate really did care about his father, who was spared by machine gun blasts during some of the bloodiest fighting after the invasion.
Levers wonders if his father was there when, on June 8, 1944, the 12th SS Hitler Youth Division launched a fierce counterattack on positions held by the Royal Winnipeg Rifles in the village of Put-en-Bessin.
German attacks had isolated several Canadian units, and several men from the Winnipeg Rifles were executed after their surrender.
During the first ten days of the Allied campaign, approximately 156 Canadians and two British prisoners of war (POWs) were killed by Nazi prison wardens.
Don Lever’s daughter, Jen Anand, shares his sense of wonder, but also sees following in her grandfather’s footsteps as an important act of mercy at a time when few veterans are left.
Now it’s up to the descendants of those who lost their lives fighting to keep that spirit alive, she said.
“I felt the same way I do on any Memorial Day, but I want to thank all those behind me who had the courage to stand up and protect everything,” she said as she prepared for the trip.
Before leaving for France, Anand’s daughter Sophia wondered what it would be like to follow in her great-grandfather’s footsteps, a life and era so far removed from her day-to-day experiences as a student.
Sophia said she knows she only has a vague idea of what it was like to live in the mid-1940s, but believes the trip is important for people of her generation.
“I think it’s important to know that so many people have sacrificed everything to bring about this good world that we live in,” she said.
CBC Kids’ News contributor Isabel MacNeil explains Canada’s role in the D-Day campaign during World War II.
Their pilgrimage was made possible by researchers from the website Project 44, who this spring combed the National Archives to trace the Lebar Corps’ movements on the day of the battle.
Researchers had to sift through 80-year-old battle logs written under fire. One of the researchers, Drew Hannen, said it was difficult to pinpoint the exact location of the Levers family, and their goal was to get as close as possible.
“It’s like searching for a needle,” Hannen said, “but at least we can narrow down the site and be more certain about exactly where it happened.”
He said researchers were confident they could find its “approximate location.”
