Return to Juno
On June 5, 2019, MNC Vice-President and Veterans Affairs Minister David Chartrand led a Métis Nation delegation to the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery for a commemoration attended by the Governor General of Canada, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, and French dignitaries. On the same day, Frank Godon from Boissevain, Manitoba presented the uniform of his father, Francis, a prominent Métis Second World War veteran, to the Juno Beach Centre, a museum at the site Canadian soldiers landed on D-Day.
National Aboriginal Veterans Monument
“To Aboriginal War Veterans in Canada and to those that have Fallen
This monument is raised in sacred and everlasting honour of the contributions of all Aboriginal Canadians in war and peacekeeping operations.”
– inscription on National Aboriginal Veterans Monument
Many thousands of Indigenous people saw action and endured hardship in the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War. They served with honour and distinction in all branches of the service and in every rank and appointment from Private to Brigadier. They fought overseas to defend the sovereignty and liberty of allied nations, in addition to supporting the cause at home. Their dedication continues in peace support operations in faraway lands.