EDITORIAL: Honour their sacrifice with pride and dignity

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May 8 marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe — VE Day. In the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of Canadian troops fought and thousands of them gave their lives fighting fascism in the name of freedom and democracy in countries most had never seen before. 

Whether storming the beaches of Normandy, liberating the Netherlands or the invasion of Sicily, Canadians made enormous sacrifices to ensure the freedoms we now take for granted. Hundreds of Canadian airmen took to the cruel skies over towns and cities in the U.K. to fight the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. 

In an Orwellian rewriting of history, American President Donald Trump seems determined to eliminate the participation of the rest of the Allies in the U.S. celebration of VE Day. He will remove all mention of Europe in the name and call it “Victory Day for World War Two.” 

Yes, America turned the tide when it entered the war. But the U.S. only joined after Pearl Harbor was attacked in December 1941. 

“We won both Wars. Nobody was close to us in terms of strength, bravery or military brilliance,” Trump said in a recent announcement. 

We beg to differ. Canada threw its support behind the Allies from the start of the war in 1939. On a per-capita basis, this country lost more military personnel than any other nation in that conflict. We had a small population and suffered huge casualties. 

They were the unsung heroes — performing magnificent feats of perseverance and bravery without fanfare. In the intervening eight decades, the entertainment industry has rewritten the war. Canadian stories have been edited out. 

In the movie, Dunkirk, the Kenneth Branagh character is based on a Canadian, James Campbell. Over three days in 1940, Campbell, the real hero, stood on a jetty under enemy fire, calmly evacuating 330,000 men from the beach. 

The Netherlands still solemnly remembers and honours the Canadians who died liberating their country. School children still tend their graves. Those brave young men could have said, “Not my country; not my war.” To their everlasting glory, they stepped up and into the jaws of war. 

We will remember them not with jingoistic bombast, but with quiet thanks for their courage and service to Canada. 

Lest we forget.