Emotion filled Staff Sgt. Chad Scheske’s voice as he discussed his trip to France to celebrate the 80th anniversary of D-Day and honour those men who fought — and died — on that beach and elsewhere in Western Europe.
Scheske travelled to Europe in early June with the Royal Regina Rifles’ Trust Fund (RRRTF) as part of Operation CALVADOS, which aimed to commemorate the June 6, 1944, invasion of Normandy and the subsequent battle to liberate France.
The Moose Jaw police officer is a retired sergeant of the Royal Regina Rifles and attended the Tour of Honour after Ed Staniowski, a retired lieutenant colonel and a Moose Jaw-born native, asked him to attend.
Walking on ‘hallowed ground’
“The trip overall was fantastic (and was) a trip of a lifetime. I was honoured to be there,” Scheske told the Moose Jaw Express. “And it was pretty amazing to walk (in) the footsteps of those who were there in 1944. And it’s some fairly hallowed ground that I will certainly remember for the rest of my life.”
What struck Scheske while standing on Nan Green Beach — where the Regina Rifle Regiment landed on June 6 — and visiting other parts of France and Belgium was that most soldiers were between 18 and 20 years of age.
These boys left Canada and trained in England for several years before hopping into landing craft and sailing across the English Channel to liberate a country they had never seen before.
“And as their landing craft hit the beaches, some of their war lasted five seconds. And they paid the ultimate sacrifice to free France and … Europe,” Scheske said, noting the men showed heroism and bravery while completing their tasks.
Those who survived the landing later accomplished an incredible feat by pushing 20 kilometres inland in two days, mainly due to amazing leaders and soldiers willing to follow them, he continued.
A very important veteran
The RRRTF visited Juno Beach on June 4 but couldn’t return for the 80th anniversary ceremony on June 6 because of circumstances beyond the group’s control. However, what Scheske thought was phenomenal was that 99-year-old William Seifried — who landed at Juno — walked the beach with members of the Royal Regina Rifles in attendance.
Seifried was also treated like a very important person; he had an entourage with him and met Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“So us average folk didn’t really get in to talk to him because he was well taken care of,” chuckled Scheske.
War stories
Although the Moose Javian never conducted any research before travelling to France about Rifle members who died on the beach, he recalled listening to veterans in the 1990s who survived the invasion and subsequent Battle of Normandy.
One member whose story he remembers is Denis Chisholm — Regina’s former deputy police chief — who recalled walking across a small footbridge over the Leopold Canal in Belgium, falling into the water, sinking and attempting to strip off his gear to escape. Luckily, another soldier pulled him out.
“I really wish that when I was in the ’90s (and was) … that much younger that I had paid more heed to their stories because now that I’ve been there, (I) can put their stories (into context),” Scheske said.
The Tour of Honour group eventually visited the Leopold Canal and saw just how close the Canadians and Germans were during combat. The battle occurred in September and October 1944 and caused over 200 Canadian casualties, including 45 dead.
Memories of conflict
While travelling in France, the group encountered two Frenchmen who had interesting stories about their connection to the Second World War.
One man’s father fought with the French army and was captured by the Germans at Caen. After the Canadians liberated that city, the father returned weighing 100 pounds, and a year later, his son — who pretends to be a veteran because of his aged looks — was born.
The second man was seven years old — he’s now 87 — when the Canadians landed and remembers the Regina Rifle Regiment preparing to attack a well-fortified position at the Ardenne Abbey. He recalled his father saying they needed to hide in their basement because the fighting was about to start.
The tour group was so amazed by the man’s story that one of the Rifles’ commanding officers gave him a challenge coin to honour him.
Leadership roles
Scheske brought back a bottle of sand from Juno Beach and plans to give small amounts to every MJPS officer in a leadership position and explain how important that material is. He pointed out that senior officers with the Rifles led their men from the front and had high casualty rates.
“It’s important for your leadership within this organization to know that just because you’ve been promoted … doesn’t mean that you’re not there with your people under you striving and hoping to do the best for them,” he said.
Numerous war dead
Besides Second World War locations, the group also visited places with connections to the First World War, such as the Menin Gate monument and Tyne Cot Cemetery — both in Ypres, Belgium.
The monument lists the names of more than 55,000 Commonwealth soldiers — including 6,000 Canadians — who died and have no known graves, while the cemetery is the largest war cemetery worldwide, with over 11,000 headstones and 35,000 names on wall plaques.
“It’s really sobering. And the amount of casualties from the First World War are staggering in the amount that were never found and lost to the mud and lost to the artillery,” said Scheske.
The officer also visited and touched the Vimy Ridge monument, which lists 11,250 Canadian soldiers with no known graves. After seeing the ridge, Scheske gained a better idea of why that area was so important to the Allies — the high ground gave good views of the surrounding area and made it more easily defensible.
An emotional trip
Reflecting on his trip, Scheske said that many emotions flowed while he was there, whether it was visiting cemeteries, seeing monuments or participating in candlelight vigils.
“Someone had to play the bagpipes, and the sunglasses come on, and the tears roll down your face,” he remarked. “So yeah, it’s overwhelming.”
The policeman praised the Europeans for their commitment to honouring Canada’s fallen soldiers, sailors and airmen, whether it’s maintaining war cemeteries or holding three-day celebratory events.
“Yeah, standing on Juno and standing on Vimy, where some of the greatest sacrifices were made, it’s emotional,” Scheske added. “No doubt.”