The first guy being interviewed is my grandfather! So proud!

I’m a ex Royal Marine Commando Corporal, my next door neighbour was Brigadier James Hill (Speedy Hill) an officer and a gentleman. He always talked about his Canadian Paratroopers with affection ,pride and their professionalism. We used to just sit in his garden drinking tea chatting about everything and nothing,I visited him for the last time a couple of days before he died. I miss the chats,he was a Brigadier with a maroon lid ,I was a corporal with a green lid such a gentleman.

The fact these men saw parachute failures in training and still went through with it just shows the determination and pure balls of steel these men had.

My cousin was among these paratroopers. He dropped behind enemy lines in the early hours of June 6, and survived the first few weeks, but was killed in late August 1944. He was a farm boy, aged 22, and is buried in Bayeux War Cemetery.

From a multiple tour Afghan Vet and a Canadian army Parachutist I got nothing on you guys! Your what made this country great. AIRBORNE!

As a footnote, medical services for the Canadian Paras were provided by the British 224 Parachute Field Ambulance RAMC. My late father, a conscientious objector from London, was unlucky enough to be captured along with most of his unit early on D Day when a German patrol stumbled across them setting up their field hospital in Varaville. Later in the war he rejoined the unit and saw action with the Canadians in the Ardennes and the the Rhine crossings, ending the war facing the Russians on the Baltic. Being a rather quiet, gentle Englishman he always referred to the Canadian Paras as 'bloody mad'! We will remember them.

The Canadian content makes me feel good. Thank you.

My grandfather was a Canadian paratrooper on D-Day. We still have his combined ops patch (gold stitching). Watching this gave me chills, and allowed me to witness a little bit of what he had to live through. Truly amazing video.

My respect for these men who gave their lives for the freedom we have today. We will not forget them❤

From MT - USA... ... Thank you, Canada... ... For saving us, too. Very impressed - you are remembered.

To ask a man child to jump out of a perfectly good plane and kill anybody in a uniform is incredible. These Men who fought World War 2 are truly the greatest people who have ever walked the surface of the Earth.The families and women who supported them made an incredible sacrifice to help humanity.

My son is taking the Cdn Basic Parachute Course next month. I took mine 39 years ago. .... These guys had a level of toughness I don't think could be replicated in the current generation or my generation.

Thank you 🇨🇦 for standing with us when the world needed it most.

I am proud Canadian. My grandfather and great-grandfather were in WW1 WW2. I asked my grandfather a few questions about the war, but he really didn't talk about it. My grandmother later told me he got hit in the side and leg with shrapnel from hand grenade, and he lost his brother.

My Grandfather tried to join the Canadian Airborne. They didn't let him in because all of his fingers were the same length. He did join the Canadian Army though, and died at Normandy in 1944.

When I go to graveyard to visit my grandparents,each time I take Chester my golden retriever and we always visit the veterans and straighten out their little flags and maple leaf markers! I'm so grateful for our freedom which so many unselfishly gave their young lives for our freedom! Thank u all veterans ur the real heroes!

My wife and I are planning to attend the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, at Juno Beach while part of an organized memorial tour. After the tour concludes we will be travelling on our own to tour the 1 Can Para DZ and objectives in Normandy, then to Holland and Belgium where my father first entered combat with the Battalion. We will then follow his route from the Canadian Varsity DZ to Wismar, with a stop at Bergin- Belsen. He told me about coming upon the concentration camp, the "strike" in England, stopping the Soviets in Wismar, and several other stories. He was 20 yrs. 4 mos. on VE day. "We will remember them."

My old Dad was RN (and a Boxer) and he said that the only squadies they would'nt get in a bar brawl with was the Canadians. They had max respect for the Canadians. Everyone else was fair game 🤣🤕

Thanks for this Canadian contents. My dad trained for the infantry in WW2. It was an uncaring industrial sausage factory. That's where that generation learned not to complain.

What would have happened to the world if Commonwealth nations hadn't stood with Britain before the USA became involved in the war? I think the world would have been a far different place today. Canada, Australia, India and all the others who fought beside britain all deserve to be remembered.

Wow. This was my first Canadian story on WWII. The Paras were truly bad Azz troops. I can’t imagine what they went through. I just want to thank my Northern brothers and sisters for everything they did for us and for the sacrifices they made for our Allies. Bless you all.

Greatful thank you so much God bless from (Holland) The Netherlands

Oh man the amount of servicemen on this day 😢 R.I.P to those who served

Thank god we had men like this.

The Greatest Generation. Thank you for all you did and all you gave.

Paras were new to the Canadian army. My Dad was one of the first to volunteer and like so many others, he was injured in training in Canada and transferred to tanks where he didnt have to march. He still saw lots of action in Sicily, Italy, Belgium, Holland and N.W. Germany.

What the presentation didn't make clear but needs to be noted is that the reason that the Battalion was rushed up to intercept and stop the Soviets was that the USSR had designs on capturing Denmark. Their armies in the region had orders to push as rapidly northwest through Germany as possible and occupy Denmark. SHAPE HQ became aware of this and needed to get a tough unit in place before the Red Army arrived to prevent that move. Thanks to the bravery and resolute character of the Canadian Airborne Demark remained free. An amazing achievement: imagine saving and entire country and people.

amazing. hats off to my canadian brothers up north

My son was a paratrooper. Now he’s in the skies forever looking down at us

A pleasure to watch the Canadians. It is a shame that for 60 years we could see the dead and the living in the concentration camps in a documentary - but not on YT today.

Thank God for these wonderful and brave men...the greatest generation!!!!

My grandfather, Robert Abbott, was part of 1 Can Para. He was part of one of the first groups to join the Battalion before they had developed a Canadian version of the para qualification. He did his training with the US airborne and initially was issued with US jump wings. He used to tell a story of being held back after basic training and being promoted to Lance Corporal and ordered to be an instructor at the basic training camp in Brampton, Ontario. By November of that year he had become so fed up with living in a tent as the temperatures started to fall below freezing that he felt like the notice on a mess hall bulletin board proclaiming "Paratroopers Wanted" nearly went unnoticed by him, but the location of training listed at the bottom caught his eye as it read "Fort Benning, GA". He said " Georgia!? It's warmer in Georgia!" And skipped the meal that day to report to his CO to volunteer for the Paras. He said he had no idea what a para was, he just wanted to be warm! He jumped in D-day and landed on a house miles away from th3 intended LZ. The man of the house came out with a shotgun believing him to be a German paratrooper on a training jump. He had to explain to them in high-school French he was Canadian and that the invasion had started. Years ago in the late 1960s he went back to Normandy, found the house and had dinner with that family. I am always thankful for the years of his youth that my grandfather and other men like him sacrificed to free the world and experience the horrors of war so we didn't have to. He and his friends could have been chasing girls, starting families, and being young men, but instead they were fighting and dying for us. Bravo Zulu.

Wonderful film! My uncle, Steve Kowbel, was in the Paras in WW II. He was traumatized by his combat experiences and wouldn’t talk about them until late in life, when he started going to regimental reunions. I spoke with him in August of 1998, at my other uncle’s funeral, and he told me how proud he was to have been part of the 1st Canadian Paratroop Battalion in the war. He died less than a year later, but I am grateful he was able to connect with his fellow veteran Paras and come to terms with his past. As Canadians, we should all be proud of the accomplishments of this unit.

It was a wonderful historical coverage video about Canadian paratroopers' missions in D.Day operations during WW2.

Loving the Canadian content! Love seeing the comments from the other allied nations about how they’re learning new things about our contribution.

A better soldier I could never have been. These men were a different breed.

Thanks to these Paratrooper Veterans for their Service 🙏🇨🇦

The 1st Paras were the Elite of a very special Army. Thanks to all of these men from the bottom of my heart. God bless us all.

My uncle was in the American Paratroopers of the group he dropped with on D-Day only he and his lieutenant made it back. He carried his lieutenant out on his back and was sent home with an injured wrist that he never had full use of. Diz had one of the shortest tours you could have.

We stand on the shoulders of giants! Thank you for everything that you have done for Canada and the freedoms we have enjoyed. I am a Canadian Veteran and pray that our future will continue to be bright. 🇨🇦

War Stories, You're so talented! I had to hit the like button!

To all these men and all who were there we say thankyou.and bless you.to all your comrades that never left there may you rest in.peace and bless you for your sacrifice. Blesd you all

Parachute units were very new in WW2 & there was a lot to learn! The fact that people were dropped in the wrong place was hardly surprising.

Love the story of getting drunk with the Russians then returning back to tell their general that they're friendly and they have peace.

From a long-retired member of the Canadian Army I was privileged to serve under men like BGen Rockingham who years earlier led Canadians in the Korean War, and Col Don Holmes who commanded Canadian troops on UN Peacekeeping in Egypt circa 1974. Holmes impressed us in Egypt as a tough natural leader. He was also a paratrooper who jumped the Rhine in WW11. I can relate to the fellow early in the video who said the second jump was harder because you’re more aware of what you’re about to do. I made only five jumps with a civilian club and also found the later jumps harder. I read a book by a former member of the French Foreign Legion who said much the same about members of 2 REP. Some simply were unable to continue jumping and so were posted to other FFL regiments. A bit of black humour I remember being told is that when people on the ground look like ants, all is well, but when the ants look like people, then you’re in trouble. Respect to the men in this video. They made Canada proud.

I love learning about other Allied efforts in World War II, especially the Canadian stories 🫶🏽 God bless all who serve and who have served 🙏🏽

So tragic and sad, war. So many young men getting blown to bits. Unimaginable horror. Such heroism, too. 😢

Such bravery and modesty combined, thank you for all you did.

American paratrooper, I look at these men in awe

'We stand up and hook up. So now it's getting pretty serious' got to absolutely love the Canadians 🇬🇧🍻🇨🇦

I am happy whenever I see my nations war history in a documentary, our Warriors deserve more credit in documentaries and film.

Years later when the book Tip of the Spear: An Intimate Account of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion was published, I was amazed to find a picture of my uncle in the book. He would have been very proud.

Excellent! A new (to me) video about a topic I'd never heard of before. Also, remembrances of Canadian veterans! Wonderful!

Danemark 🇩🇰 OWES IT TO Canada 🇨🇦 ‘s Sons to NOT EXPERIENCE FIRST HAND the niceties of a soviet red liberation. Wonder how the 🇳🇴 citizens of Kirkenes felt about the soviet liberation then.

What makes me sad, other than the loss of life of some of Canada's finest. It the fact that the parade up Bay Street that was held in their honour, would never happen today. I want our country back.

My uncle was in the 82nd, 505 PIR. So many had experiences similar to these Canadians. So good to learn of their experiences. The unheard of tough training, weeding out of stranglers, comradeship, valor, were shared by all of the airborne groups. We owe them all our eternal gratitude. I’d never heard of the standoff with the Russians, BTW.

The person in the intro picture is my uncle Armand Therien, Canadian Royal Marine Commando, note the Lanchester smg used only by the Navy if I recall correctly, the picture was taken while training and I'm told it was the cover of an army magazine. His father Hermas Therien was in WW1 with the 22nd regiment and received 8 medals, he later served as a prison camp guard during WW2. As a young child I remember my mother removing dark specks from his back, artillery shrapnel that had been in his body for the last 60 years. I tried to follow in their footsteps and served for 10 years in the CF and got my Airborne wings. We will forever be grateful for the peace and prosperity these men and others like them gave Canada and most of the world.

Thank-you for this documentary. My mother was born in Germany. She would recount her memory as a 12-year-old child about the “Americans” she saw passing through Oldenburg (northwest Germany) just before the war ended. Today, I realize that she is mistaken, as these “Americans” were in fact Canadians. She with my father, immigrated to Canada in the late 50s, where we all still live today.

My brother was a paratrooper sergeant and he was wounded after the drop, but survived and came home to have five sons. None of those sons had to go to war thanks to that generation of heroes.

The greatest and most generous generation ever! Volunteer to fight and die for someone else and country other than yours! They have my greatest respect and aspiration!

My father was one of the original British paras. He joined No 2 Commando in 1940 after serving 9 years with the South Wales Borderers. They later morphed into the 11th SAS and, eventually, the 1st Parachute Battalion. Like most British soldiers, he wasn't a big fan of American soldiers, but he always spoke highly of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion and said they never got the respect they deserved. The Canadian paras fought so bravely in Arnhem alongside the Brits in one of the bloodiest battles of WWII. Lest we forget!

Definitely the Greatest Generation. Much respect. 👊🏻

Truly amazing men. They really were the 'Greatest Generation'.

Great video. Thank God someone is making the effort to tell the stories of Canada's contribution to the war effort - often overlooked. I've met some of these fine gentlemen and am sad to say they are all gone now. Videos like this give them a chance to tell their story before it's too late. One complaint: the title. The use of the word 'disastrous' is an insult. These brave men achieved all their objectives. Nothing 'disastrous' about it.

Well done! And you stopped the RushkiesToo!!

My respect to al Canadees vetrans the liberait my home town deep bow tho you all respect gratiings from Holland

To bad the Canadian contribution in WW 2 is not more recognized. But we are a humble people. Not looking to be glorified. We Know who we are.

I've never heard about this before.More and more of these stories are coming out.Usually 2nd World War is told from the.American perspective.I had an American customer who thought that the Korean War was fought only by Americans. " I thought we were on our own there!" He said.

I barely know what to say. I'm an old white guy, so nobody pays any attention to me, but my neighbour was in this battalion, my dad and his brothers, my baseball coach, my teachers all killed somebody so I could do whatever I wanted. If they were alive today, they would be very, very, very angry at what we have done with the freedom they gave us.

Great video, important for everyone to know of this history and the mentality of these vets. True north strong and free. Greatest generation.

My late uncle was part of this unit in Normandy. He wouldn't talk much about his combat experiences, but relayed a story of the brutality of combat. While conducting a night operation, they surprised and captured a small group of young Germans. One of the Germans (a young Leutnant) was hysterical with fear, and wouldn't stop screaming. Obviously the paratroops wanted to be as quiet as possible, so the prisoner had to be silenced. My uncle didn't tell me who actually did it, but someone quickly drew a dagger and cut his throat. He said that's just the way it was. They didn't think twice about what needed to be done. They couldn't afford to draw attention to their position.

It's great to see Canadian paratroopers recognized for their glory and not over their less than honourable disbanding over mishandling prisoners in Africa.

My Uncle was with A Company and is mentioned in the book " Holding Juno " 🇨🇦

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to this generation!

just hearing that man say hes from the same town as me gives me so much pride

My father served twice in ww2. He signed up under age. Was sent to Italy. My.grandfather was inspecting the new recruits. Leaned into my dad and asked him...wtf are you doing here. Was sent home to Canada. Trained more and landed at Normandy Dday +5.

The Canadians seem to have been forgotten for their part in the military and industrial contributions in the war but they were there in Dieppe paid the price and everywhere else till the end 🫡🫡🫡

My father, who proudly served Canada for 32 years, 6 of them in Germany 1957-1963, would have loved this. His father served in the RCAF in WW2, having served as a Scot in WW1, his 2 sisters served and his brother died in a terrible hotel fire in Regina the day after he signed up. I could listen to him talk for hours with my then 14-15 year old son, who was studying WW2 in high school. My son’s history teacher was so impressed with my son’s knowledge gained from his grandfather that he invited my Papa to speak. Having grown up on military bases all over Canada, it was assumed you knew about the Paras. I really wish I had chosen to serve, one of my very few regrets.

Feel so proud of our forces Thankyou for everything! So Respected!

Hi, as old as you are, there is a certainty in your life “once a Para, always a Para!”. Utrinque Paratus, cheers mate. Harera

another excellent video. keep up the good work. thaqnk you.

My 7th grade teacher was in this battalion.

Thank you for protecting the free world. I’m an American, but we owe it to these brave Canadians for defending the free world we all belong to. Today we wonder about our free world today. 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

Will we have Market Garden documentary?

Great to see the story of these brave men receive more recognition. Ever friends of Australia.

Wow ,just wow, I knew you Canadians were there but never knew how up front you guys were... absolutely amazing,even when the video was on the older today's persons,,, I saw warriors.... thank you Canada, heroes absolute ✌️ from liverpool uk ❤

My father was a member of a Royal Air Force Forward Air Control unit attached to the Canadian forces and landed on Juno Beach on the first day of the Invasion of Normandy. His unit provided close air support for the ground troops until the end of the war and he was with the Canadian troops who liberated Bergen- Belsen, then moved to Wismar to block the Russians from moving up the Baltic Sea coast to invade Denmark. My father passed away in 2012 aged 87 and he always said that the Canadians were excellent men and soldiers. RIP dearest Dad, will always love you.❤❤❤

The Canadians where deployed in every tough and odds stacked against them battles after the D Day landings . Those brave and courageous men had balls of steel and not just the Parachute troops , the infantry and tank regiments where outstanding against all odds . I salute each and every one of those SUPURB warriors, thank you for all you did , thank you so much .🫡🙏🫡

God bless you lads! From a grateful Englishman.

These are Canadian heroes. The compassion of these tough men when they liberated Bergen-Belsen was heartwarming and incredible.

Merci à tous ces héros canadiens. Vous êtes tous des héros. Merci !!!! RIP !

Anyone who has even a passing interest in the wars will know how fearsome the Canadians were. Ive wen blessed to visit vimy ridge, where the Canadians achieved the impossible, and the Germans learned to fear the Canadians greatly. Many German memoirs cite CANADIANS as the enemies the Germans feared more than any other army. That's not to lessen the monumental achievements of the allied forces in general, instead wha my comments seeks to achieve is to offer my respects to, and eternal admiration of, the fearless warriors of the Canadian armed forces. Truly, lions of freedom.

I know that every Canadian was a volunteer, Real Heroes! 🤕👍

Thank you for your service. Heroes all.

i watched this, then i had a long cry alone, and felt i owed all of you a salute even though i never served ,so here a salute too all that ever served !

Love this! Wasn't aware there were Canadian paratroopers on DDay.

Thank you all😮😮😮

Thank You Canada , one of you is still here in England , my Grandad .

Respect!

Such a well done program.To be honest I did not know very much about the Canadian Paras….now I do! Thank you.