Windsor military captain pays tribute to D-Day heroes with Normandy parachute jumps on 80th anniversary

A Windsor-based military captain is overseas to demonstrate how soldiers dropped from parachutes to fight in the D-Day invasion 80 years ago.

Thursday marks eight decades since the Normandy landings, considered to be the largest seaborne invasion in history.

Allied forces, made up of soldiers from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and many other countries, stormed the beaches of Normandy in northern France.

Aimed at taking down German forces, the invasion in June 1944 eventually turned the tide against the Nazis in the Second World War.

It's estimated approximately 14,000 Canadian troops took part in the invasion of Normandy.

"We're jumping to commemorate the drops that happened 80 years ago. It's to help live the legacy of those that have gone before us and keep their memory alive by teaching the new generations what happened during D-Day," said Cpt. Brad Krewench.

Krewench, who has served in the military for 22 years, is the vice president of Canadian operations for the All Airborne Battalion — a non-profit parachute demonstration consisting of veterans.

Amid ongoing commemorative events happening in Normandy, Krewench jumped into the La Fière drop zone and will do so again on Saturday.

"It was the bloodiest battle during D-Day for the paratroopers. The whole area was flooded and it wasn't supposed to be an actual drop zone. When they did do drops there, a lot of men died and are still buried in that ground," he said. "So jumping onto that hallowed ground is something quite incredible to be able to do."

According to Windsor war biographer Gene Lotz, there were five young soldiers who died during the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944.

Windsor war biographer Gene Lots, seen on June 5, 2024. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)

"Following the three days of the invasion, there was another 20 who were killed as they fought their way into France off the beachhead," said Lotz.

Rev. Walter Brown was one of those fallen soldiers.

As Lotz documented in his 2022 book ‘The Anguish of War,’ Brown was a curate at All Saints Church in Windsor who enlisted as a chaplain and landed on D-Day in Normandy, "Carrying only his communion set and his faith."

He was captured and executed on the first day. His body was later found by the roadside, along with his communion set.

This set was eventually found in a resale shop and donated to a college in London, Ont., where it is now used annually in a Remembrance Day communion service.

Lotz also highlighted the story of Maurice Pastine, a young soldier from Belle River, who worked in Windsor before enlisting in the army and being assigned to a parachute squadron.

On D-Day, he parachuted behind enemy lines to disrupt reinforcements, but was killed on the first day, with his body later recovered and buried in a cemetery in Normandy.

"I can't imagine the courage to jump out of a plane behind enemy lines with no hope of help," said Lotz, adding it's imperative for today's society to recognize the contributions of military veterans and fallen soldiers.

"These were young men and women in the prime of their lives who put everything on hold to go and fight bad powers in the world. There's no glory in war. But there is glory afterward, with the liberties that we continue to preserve and cherish. They were the ones who fought for that."

As for Krewench, who was last in France 10 years ago to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, he said Thursday's ceremonies are expected to bring approximately two million people to the area.

"It pretty much transforms the entire Normandy area back into World War Two. Everybody is driving around in their tanks and jeeps and they're all dressed up in period outfits. It’s quite incredible to see," said Krewench.

Charles Davis, 101, is a Windsor veteran who participated in the D-Day invasion. He is also in France to witness the June 6 commemorative ceremonies up close.