On This Date

1 September 1944 Dieppe, France, is liberated by 2nd Canadian Division, which had been hard-hit at the disastrous raid in August 1942. A large victory parade follows. 2 September 1945 Japan signs terms of surrender on USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, bringing an end to six years of war. 3 September 1939 England and France declare war on Germany. Within two hours, U-30 sinks SS Athenia sailing from Glasgow and Liverpool to Montreal. 4 September 1914 The Canadian military camp at Valcartier, north of Quebec City, swells with 32,000 men and 8,000 horses. 5 September 1758 A force of 1,500 British troops in nine vessels arrives in Gaspé Bay to begin raiding Acadian villages on the coast of present-day New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula. 6 September 1952 CBFT Montreal, ...

1 June 2004 Canadian police and military personnel play significant roles in the UN stabilization mission to Haiti, supporting the transitional government and reforming the national police force. 2 June 2008 Under machine-gun fire in Afghanistan, Master Corporal Brent Gallant uses his body to shield a wounded soldier. He is awarded the Medal of Military Valour. 3 June 1944 Flight Lieutenant R.E. McBride, flying an RCAF Canso aircraft, sinks U-477 with four depth charges. 6 June 1944 About 450 Canadians are among the Allied paratroopers who land behind German coastal defences on D-Day. 8 June 1944 Putot-en-Bessin, France, west of Caen in Normandy, is temporarily lost after an attack on the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade, then retaken by the Canadian Scottish Regiment. 9 June 19...