juno A French plan to install towering wind turbines within sight of a beach where thousands of Canadians fought a bloody battle launching the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe is raising the ire of some veterans. "I think it's a disgusting affair," said Jack Martin, who was among the Canadians who stormed Juno Beach during the D-Day landings of 1944. "I saw so many of my buddies and friends die on Juno Beach that I figure it is very hallowed grounds." Martin was a company quartermaster-sergeant with the Queen's Own Rifles during the assault and later ran tours to the beach where 359 Canadians were killed.
French government announced last week that it was receiving tenders for over 1,000 wind turbines off the country's northwestern coast, including at Courseulles-sur-mer, where Juno Beach is located. The entire project is eventually predicted to power more than 4.5 million homes. The numbers don't sway 87-year-old Martin. He said the turbines might take away from the sombre historical significance of the site. "We were the only regiment without tank support and yet we penetrated further inland than any other unit in the whole D-Day assault," he said. "It's very important that people know what the Canadians had to go through to make it a historical site." Retired major Roy E. Eddy agrees, saying it's important for Canadians to keep the memory of Juno Beach alive. "I'd like to forget about it, but I don't want to," said the veteran, who was 20 when he lost many friends on the beach. "None of us slept for about 72 hours, the noise and the sound was just earth shattering." The 86-year-old said he's not against wind farms, but doesn't want to see them constructed opposite an area where so many Canadians died.
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