DIEPPE, France -- An impromptu visit to the site of the Allies' disastrous raid on Dieppe in 1942 brought back vivid memories Monday for some aboriginal veterans who later helped liberate the port town.
The veterans, who are taking part in a spiritual journey to commemorate the aboriginal contribution to both the First and Second World Wars, say avenging the loss of more than 900 comrades that Aug. 19 day was foremost on their minds during the victorious 1944 battle.
"They gave the 2nd Division a chance to come in because they lost a hell of a lot of men in the raid," said Charlie St. Germaine, a Metis from Paddle Prairie, Alta., who served with the Calgary Highlanders.
Robert Bruce, who drove a supply truck with the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps, tried to choke back the tears as he visited a memorial to the Canadian contribution.
"I lost a lot of good friends," said Bruce, an 83-year-old Metis from Winnipeg. "I don't know what you want to call it - revenge maybe - but at least let's pay them back somehow."
About 20 veterans, part of a delegation of nearly 300 elders, youths and cultural performers on an eight-day tour of France and Belgium, asked organizers for the detour to Dieppe and a nearby Canadian war cemetery instead of sticking to a planned low-key day of travel between Sunday and Tuesday's scheduled events.
The 1942 raid was orchestrated to ease pressure on hard-pressed Allied forces in Russia and North Africa. Of the nearly 5,000 Canadian who participated, 913 died and another 1,946 were taken prisoner.
There has been much debate through the years about whether the soldiers died needlessly, or if the ill-fated attack contributed to the success of D-Day two years later.
As Bruce stared from the rocky beach at the steep white cliffs that offered the Germans an exceptional vantage point over the Canadians, he struggled to accept the more positive interpretation.
"They came here with no supplies and they could only carry so much ammunition and grenades, so they were either going to be killed or taken prisoner," said Bruce.
During the veterans' brief stop on the rainy, windy shore, some were caught off guard by an unexpected expression of gratitude. A young French woman approached the group and asked if they were veterans - then promptly burst into tears.
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