RIP William Ross | 1925-2016
C Company
The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada
3rd Canadian Infantry Division
William Ross’s account of his experience during the Normandy landings:
“Our boat weighed anchor around 8:00 p.m. on June 5, 1944. I went on deck that night to observe the Allied armada and its 6,400 ships navigating the sea lanes cleared by minesweepers scattered by the Germans.
When C Company, to which I belonged, reached the beach codenamed “Nan” (Juno Beach) off Bernières-sur-Mer, as part of the second assault wave, our main concern was to spot the German snipers. I was the last man to escape from the landing craft. As I ran along the beach, one of my soldiers from the machine-gun section stopped me in my tracks: a few more steps and I would have stepped on a landmine. Then we reached the anti-tank wall and took the opportunity to catch our breath. A corporal then ordered us to move to the right and do what we had trained so hard for. We reached the center of the village and then our objective for the day: a verge at the edge of Bernières-sur-Mer, where we took up positions to monitor the surrounding area through the tall grass.
Meanwhile, we waited for the arrival of the men of the Chaudière Regiment, accompanied by tanks. Three of them approached along the wall of the Bernières-sur-Mer castle. A German 88mm gun was installed about 1,500 meters in front of us and began to fire, hitting two of the tanks. The wounded crews were screaming and burned alive. I will never forget that moment.”
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