As the anniversary day wanes, I am once again reminded that so many died to preserve freedom in a large part of our world. Over the 70 years since that sense of freedom has waxed and waned until today perhaps we again sometimes fear for freedom. I am especially reminded that Canadians lost their lives in large numbers on the beaches of Normandy. I have no idea how many. I just know it was too many.
One of my uncles, Tom, a member of the Royal Canadian Signals, was landed on the beach at D-Day+3. I don’t recall that he ever spoke about the experience, though I know he was proud to have done his part. He did speak a little about experiences later in the Netherlands, where he and his fellow soldiers received the heartfelt admiration of those who had been freed from the tyranny of Adolf Hitler.
The thought of men and women doing their part is woven into my novel The Chechen’s Revenge. Set in modern times the characters with past military service are returned to military service as part of their role in The Canadian Anti-terrorism Service. Their goal is a united one. They serve to prevent as best they can against the tyranny of terrorists who seek in fiction and in real life to do harm to freedom. By writing of such service I intended to pay some homage to the unsung heroes of our military. I can easily remember the value of this day. I was born on D-Day plus three years.
I hope each of you who read this can find a place in your hearts to pay similar homage.
Good reading friends. Thanks for your support.
Regards
Ron Stotyn, PhD
I am a retired college professor and former broadcast journalist. I live in Vermont with my wife. I write near the shores of Lake Champlain. As an author I cast characters in the task of anti-terrorism efforts. The setting for my stories is Canada. My first novel is The Chechen's Revenge, a story of Sean-Guy O'Dwyer-Lariviere and his team of Canadian Anti-terrorism Service agents on the trail of a rebel Chechen, determined to create havoc and death on Toronto's Go Train system. The Chechen's Revenge is now in print and can be ordered online at https://mkt.com/northof49publishing.
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