Delegation pays final tribute to those who fought in Dieppe, France

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Of the nearly 5,000 Canadians who took part in the raid, nearly 2,000 were taken prisoner and only about 2,200 made it back to England.

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Another 900 were killed.

“Today, we honour those who fought with such grit and valour on the beaches of France,” Trudeau said as he stood beside the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the foot of the memorial.

The prime minister called it appropriate that the skies had opened up during the ceremony, giving those in attendance a small feeling of sacrifice in remembrance of those who fought.

“As we sit here in the rain, thinking how uncomfortable we must be these minutes as our suits get wet and our hair gets wet and our shoes get wet, I think it’s all the more fitting that we remember on that day, in Dieppe, the rain wasn’t rain — it was bullets,” Trudeau said as he lowered his own umbrella.

The Dieppe raid began before dawn on that bloody August day in 1942 and was intended to test the German defences along the shore of the occupied French port. But tanks that were supposed to provide armoured cover for the soldiers were late in arriving and the infantry battalions were met with heavy machine-gun fire from the fortified cliffs overlooking the beach.

Despite the bloodshed, the raid provided valuable intelligence that would later be used in Allied amphibious assaults on Normandy and in Africa and Italy.

Trudeau said he hoped the remembrance would serve as a reminder of the terrible price paid in armed conflict.

“Today, and every day, we recommit ourselves to the pursuit of peace and justice for all,” the prime minister said.

“Today, and all days, we remember.”

The Canadian Press