One of the quotes that sums it up best is from General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander "Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.
But this is the year 1944! The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!
I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle.
We will accept nothing less than full victory!
Good luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."
On this eve of the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, I would like to share with you a recent find. A little while ago I purchased several military cap badges in Orillia, ON; and in the lot was one really interesting one from the Canadian 12th Manitoba Dragoons. After doing some research I found that the cap badge I have is a WW2 badge which is amazing being the long history of the unit. The 12th Manitoba Dragoons date back operationally to the North West Rebellion of 1885, and the unit served in the Boer War, WW I and WW II.
Further research into the units WW II actions I found that they were mobilized as an armored car unit and that they embarked for England on the 19th of August 1942. In my research I found an interesting discrepancy concerning when they landed in Normandy during the D-Day invasion. The official Canadian Forces website lists them as landing D-Day +2 & +3 (June 8 & 9, 1944); however I found other references online that states the unit as landing June 6th and functioning as an infantry company until almost a month later at which time they mounted up with their "Staghound" armored cars.
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| Staghound armored cars of the 12th Manitoba Dragoons. Photo Reference: Hochwald Forest area - 45, no reference, the picture is from a book published in 1947: The Pictorial History of the Canadian Army Overseas 1939-1945 |
If anyone has more information on the unit during D-Day please send an email to Samantha@lakecountrycollectables.com I would love to know more details and I can share the details on the site.
More photos of the cap badge is on my ETSY store at https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/671833348/ww2-canadian-12th-manitoba-dragoons-cap?ref=shop_home_active_2
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