Tag Archives: World War II
A Newer Ruin
In a land where the ruins can be a couple of thousand years old, a 20th century relic doesn’t stands out. This German pillbox, part of the World War Two coastal defence system, is on the edges of Monterosso al Mare, one of the villages of Italy’s Cinque Terre region. It serves as a […]
An Anniversary Somewhat Forgotten
It ended seventy-nine years ago today, though they probably didn’t know it was the last day. They expected the bombers back to continue the Battle of Britain. As they had every day since July 10, 1940, Nazi Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe, had bombed British targets. Unprepared for war, the few fighter pilots of the […]
Remembering The Battle
It has been 75 years since D-Day, and the generation that fought that battle is almost gone. This week though, we have been remembering a pivotal moment in world history with a series of posts I write five years ago. When we visited the Juno Beach Centre I came away with a feeling of not […]
Still Politically Incorrect
This week, to share in the observance of the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Allied invasion or Normandy, I am repeating some posts from my visit there five years ago, The words jumped out from the printed page in the display case at the Juno Beach Centre, the Canadian D-Day Museum in Courseilles sur […]
Walking Along Juno Beach
With the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings tomorrow, we continue our reflections with a post from 2014. It’s peaceful on Juno Beach on a sunny July afternoon. A few tourists, a few locals getting some sun; if I had been thinking I would have taken off my shoes and socks and dipped my toes […]
Facing The Storm
I just realized that the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Normandy landings is this week. I found visiting the landing sites, which I did in 2014, to be an incredibly moving experience. It was on that trip that I decided to share my thoughts regularly in this space. For the next couple of days, […]
Fighting For Colmar – III
One aspect of the military cemetery in the hills above Colmar and Sigolsheim that I hadn’t considered before was just who fought in the Second World War battles to liberate France. I guess that is a bit of Canadian blindness on my part. Canadian war cemeteries, or at least the ones I have visited, have […]
He Who Must Not Be Named
It’s been 20 years or so since the first of the Harry Potter novels was published, sparking a reading craze and transforming author J.K. Rowling from impoverished single mother into the world’s richest woman. A generation has grown up with the books (and the subsequent movie adaptations). They are a powerful marketing force, and Rowling […]
Remembrance Day 2017
A hundred years ago today the First World War was dragging on with no end in sight. The troops were mired in the mud of the trenches of France and Belgium. It was not a pretty war. My grandfather fought in that conflict. To honour his memory, each November 11, for as long as I […]
Allied
I rarely make it to the theatre to see the hot new movies, life seems to always get in the way. I read the reviews, say “I think I’d like to see that picture,” then watch it on Netflix a year later. So going to see Allied last Friday on its opening weekend was unusual. […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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