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A 100-year-old Canadian WWII veteran died a day before he was due to return France for the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy.
William Cameron’s death on Sunday was announced on Twitter by CanadaDepartment of Veterans Affairs. He was due to fly to France as part of a Canadian delegation attending ceremonies this week.
“We are saddened by the passing of SWW veteran William ‘Bill’ Cameron,” the post said. “Relax, Mr. Cameron.”
Cameron was an anti-aircraft gunner on a corvette escorting American barges during the D-Day landings and the Battle of Normandy.
Born in Brandon, Manitoba, he later moved with his family to the Pacific coast of Canada, where he joined the navy in 1943.
He recalled in a video on the website of the Juno Beach Center museum in Normandy that he and his crew — the only Canadian corvette to reach the beaches during the invasion — were ordered at Omaha Beach to “protect all these guys on the barges that are landing on the beaches “.
“I’ll tell you it was a terrible thing,” he said, adding that this particular beach was described as the most difficult to capture.
“We were all very scared,” he said. “There’s no doubt about that, especially when [enemy] the planes were coming right at you.
“At one point the captain mentioned to me, ‘Good shooting, Cameron.’ I will never forget that,” he added.
Some members of his ship’s crew are injured, but no one is killed in the battle. About 45,000 Canadians lost their lives in the war, including 5,500 killed during the Battle of Normandy and 381 on D-Day.
Cameron was awarded France’s Légion d’Honneur – the nation’s highest honor – in 2015 in recognition of his contribution to the liberation of France.
“France will never forget what the country owes him and will keep his memory alive,” the French consulate in Vancouver said.
“We will remember his service and history,” said Canadian Veterans Affairs Minister Jeanette Pettipas Taylor.
French President Emmanuel Macron will host Joe Biden, Britain’s King Charles III and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the beaches of Normandy, representing the three main countries involved in the June 6, 1944, landings.
About 200 veterans, most in their late 90s or older, are also expected.
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