Local veteran’s D-Day story shared by Prime Minister

World War II veteran Jim Parks had a chance encounter with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while attending ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Juno Beach.

Parks, 99, joined the Canadian contingent of World War II veterans who went to the beach in Normandy where on June 6, exactly 80 years ago, he stood as a teenager fighting German forces Nazis.

Trudeau stopped to speak with Parks, who shared his memories of that historic battle, which was captured on video and later shared on the prime minister’s X account.

“He’s like you and me, but he’s in a position of responsibility,” Parks said after returning from the trip. “You have to admit that. I always make sure to call him sir because his position requires you to refer to him as sir.”

Parks, who lives in Mount Albert, enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces at age 16 with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. He was posted to England in 1941 before being sent to join the troops that stormed Juno Beach in 1944.

“By the time we went to the beach, all hell was breaking loose,” Parks said.

Parks told Trudeau about his wartime experience and they thanked each other for their service to our country.

“I told him to keep up the good work,” Parks said. “We had a little chat and I said, ‘You’re right here in Juno Beach, where we landed on D-Day.’ I explained to him what I was involved with. He asked a few questions. We had a good conversation.”

To win the war, the Allied High Command decided that the Normandy coast would be the target of the amphibious assault on the mainland. Canadian infantry and armored troops were given a landing zone at Juno Beach. About 359 Canadians lost their lives that day.

“He lost his gear when he went to Juno Beach,” said Richard Furlong, marketing director of the Newmarket PROBUS club, of which Parks is a member. “A soldier in front of him lost his life. He took (that soldier’s) equipment and moved on.”

The Canadian troops advanced further inland. Parks helped liberate France from Nazi Germany and was involved in the Battle of Putot and the Battle of Carpiquet.

“Eighty years ago, more than 14,000 Canadians landed on Juno Beach, among the approximately 150,000 Allied forces that came ashore in Normandy,” Trudeau said at the event. “These soldiers had friends and family. They had lives and jobs before the war started. On the battlefield, francophones, anglophones, indigenous peoples and new Canadians came together as one.”

Parks was wounded in Delfzijl, Holland, while on duty. He was thrown through a window under shell fire and found himself in a military hospital with shrapnel in his arm and legs. The shrapnel in the leg is still there because it is too close to a major artery to be removed.

“Cheering for the Blue Jays or the Toronto Maple Leafs, you take it for granted, but it’s so nice to be free and do what you want to do,” Parks said. “That’s what you have to hold on to, because people all over the world want to take away your borders, take away your freedom, but hold on to it. If you are ever threatened again, answer the call.”

Parks returned to Juno Beach several times. He helped raise funds for the Juno Beach Center, a World War II museum and cultural center in Normandy, France. He aimed to raise one dollar for each of the 18,700 soldiers killed in Normandy and raised over $20,000.

After the war, Parks spent time with a Winnipeg fire department, government jobs in Veterans Affairs and the Department of Labor and Unemployment. He and his wife then moved to Waterloo, where he retired, before moving to Mount Albert, where his daughter also lives.

— With files from Joseph Quigley

“If you’re ever threatened again, answer the call.”

Jim was 19 when he landed on Juno Beach. He knew he could die. But he knew it was worth it. Freedom is worth it. pic.twitter.com/ddPiDgFkBs

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 7, 2024