The English Channel is calm today. Small waves curl softly on the gently sloping shore. It is a beautiful and peaceful setting. Yet, as I tread onto the sands of Juno, I hear in the sluggish murmur of the waves the harsh echoes of history, and experience a haunting sense of unease. I have a poignant sensation that I am treading on hallowed ground. Tributes honouring the role Canadian soldiers played can be found across the Normandy countryside, from Canadian flags that flutter in shoreline towns to memorials in the villages and on the bridges that were taken and held, from solitary wreaths laid on a stretch of sand to the beauty of a well-tended cemetery or the sad solitude of a garden at a former abbey. I'm eternally thankful!